₦airaland Forum

I think the 29hrs spent from Lagos to Washington was the most boring period of my life. Perhaps the only reason I tried to give it life was the thought that "my nairaland family is waiting for my transcript" and hey, I must say something.

The process from Lagos was rough as always with Nigerians trying to jump queue and some even raising their voices against one another. I was just reticent even when she slided into my front. ALAS, she was sent to the very back by an officer at the immigration desk.

Boarded the plane at about 30mins to the scheduled time and there we go at the set time. On board while I was searching for usb port on the seat, it's shocking that the QR 330 do not have such so I got to Doha stop over with an empty battery. I spent 3seconds feeling Doha's heat as we moved from the plane to the bus which conveyed us to the transit area. Doha is hot even in the middle of the night. Just like Dubai, at 4am, it was like 9am in Nigeria. At this time, my phone was fully charged(good charging ports everywhere-see attachment) and I connected to the Doha airport wifi and then updated this family.

At 7am, we got to the boarding gate to connect us to washington. Now I am better because there were charging ports on the QR707 seats. I was able to see just one movie in-between the 13hrs journey. The title of the movie? "Miracle from Heaven".

Arriving Washington at exactly 3:40pm on the 30th because we had 30mins delay. I got to the POE after about 45mins on a well organized queue with no complaint nor embarrassment. And here we go with the transcript:

Officer: where are you coming from?
Me: Lagos, Nigeria
Officer: How was your trip? (passport pls-gave it with declaration form-see attachment)
Me: Boring and long
Officer: I am so sorry
Officer: so you are here for....(cuts in-studies)
Officer: what course and where?
Me: Anthropology with focus on historical archaeology at William and Mary
Officer: I20 pls (gave it)
Officer: great full scholarship (I smiled)
Officer: how much do you have on you?
Me: about 700dollars.
Officer: great. Hands over document, stamped on the passport and told me to enjoy my stay.



I went to the baggage area-found my luggage together with ease and just went out. But no one even asked anything about anything in my bag. It got dawn on me that I am in Washington DC when I saw my supervisor from afaroff taking a shot of me. "Hey Lasisi, good to have you". I am like " ahn ahn where dem cpb people na" lol.

So we went straight to one kings buffet and had our dinner.


My conclusion- there is nothing to bother about the POE. As Sofadj, my dear friend at Maryland do tell me "you will be fine". I believe everyone with a genuine reason to school would be fine both at the embassy and at the POE.

- this might help someone- Lagosismyhome once said that "the God you pray to is a powerful God indeed". I think you are right. I can't remember spending my personal dime on my applications because I do not have any money to spend. But I can remember spending about 30000naira between last year and now- I spent the money only by giving it in the house of God. Sometimes I will have 10K and I needed to purchase flight ticket-10k would do nothing but I will quickly pray over it and sow it as a seed in church. This was how I paid for GRE, TOEFL, applied to 5schs (funded for all for 5yrs), got accomodation on campus, I mean everything was paid by my department even my Gre/toefl and application fees. I only paid about 30k in the house of God.

In everything we do, please let's acknowledge God because He would always make a way when there is no way. I learnt something from the movie onboard. The lady said " there are two things to believe 1. That everything is a miracle. 2. That nothing is a miracle". I think it doesn't hurt to believe everything is a miracle. Just to believe makes it a miracle. On this note, I want to wish everyone going for interview this week and months to come, Miracles from Heaven. Safetrip to everyone travelling this week too.

Thank you all my Nairaland Clan!!!

Daodudavid:
Sir ZT, is there any way you can help with TEOFL listening and speaking section online practice link's.. Thanks

Guess what? You have one at your finger tips. Simply search for toefl materials on Android store or apple store. They have great listening lessons and all other components.

I arrived washington about 6hrs ago. I just got access to Internet. Transcript to follow soon.

Thank you all!!!

imperiouxx:
Calculation of cgpa is another ball game. It's calculated course by course and never as a digit that is solve with simple arithmetic.

Yes right

Doha Lay over right about now.......

OluDare01:
I get tribal marks abi
You wey spank toefl

Gre: only AW is something to write home about.
Toefl: 94 or 98, I can't remember. But you scored 105

LagosismyHome:
There is a guy here but he didnt want to post his transcript cant force him , his choice , he only does pm ....his external scholarship for first degree is covering everything even his ticket from Nigeria , Sevis and Visa fee. ....

Opportunity like that dey, but u have to prove you are worth the full free ride .

I got that too but I don't think I have a transcript except application stress, poor gre score, average toefl, strong research experience, and prayer!!!

*all paid by the school!!!

OluDare01:
Lool.
But that girl that got the scholarship still had to cough some dough.
Apparently, nothing is absolutely free

I can probably tell that sometimes, everything can be absolutely free tho. #dntmindMe

OluDare01:
Even the timezone dey confuse the witches
Bro,safe trip to Obama land

Ose fam, I will update you guys

Some people will be sleeping while some be awake. Okay we are changing locations!!! Lol

LagosismyHome:
lol ....I think say na only me see that name ooo
As in ....... Me too i join queue for showers of $$ Godsbillionaire

Masef, make I no carry last!!!

LagosismyHome:
Talk about breaking it down ...... You took this detail overboard ooo .
Just joking . Thanks

I just have to save it now!!!

Flosslive:
VISA delayed this morning

Me: Good Morning
VO: Good Morning, pass me your passport and I-20
VO: how did you learn about university of Maine.
Me: l used google for my search which in turn introduced me to Peterson guide. Peterson database includes over 50,000 accredited schools (cuts in)
VO: you are giving me a rehearsed speech I don't want that.
VO: why did you choose te university of Maine?
Me: I applied to three schools I was offered admission into all. I chose the university of Maine cos I was given my preferred course of study.
VO: cuts in again you are giving me a rehearsed speech.

VO: why did you choose university of Maine?
Me: UM has one of the lowest student to faculty ratio of 16:1 which gives me easy access to my professors and it's affordable by my sponsor.
VO: says you know what
Let's just continue
Do you have any relatives in the US?
Me: No
Types for a while and gives me the blue paper.

Please guys, I am going for an undergraduate degree in clinical laboratory science and medical technology.
What could be wrong with my answers?

I intend on getting another appointment or next week ,my schools resumes 23rd of August

Thanks guys.

Lagosismyhome has said it all, and I always say this" once you have the floor, do not hesitate in bringing your audience to the knowledge your peculiar research interest". This is very impt because you can link it to all kind of questions.

Walspring:
This can only work for those who haven't been denied visa before or have been denied visa for more than 7 months

That's sad. Never knew the person had a denial within this period.

LagosismyHome:
Sorry to read this .... It is either u keep checking incase someone cancels and an earlier spot opens in the 2 offices not 1 or ask the school is they can give u an extension. ..that will mean they reissue you a new i20 with a revised start date but not every school agrees to that. ...the only other option i can think if is defering to spring session... if not if u enter after the i20 day u will be denied entry

Right- can also get a reissue. The last option before the deferment may be the expedited appointment (it has a limitation though)


http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-niv-expeditedappointment.asp

Femibrand:
Good morning all. I have been trying to book an appointment at the Abuja Embassy, the earliest date for appointment I've been seeing so far is 23rd August. Having been denied once, please what can I do. I've admission into Morehead State University with a GA at hand. And the school resumes 5th August, classes begins 15th August. Thank you

There are two options you either check if lagos dates are cool or you seek for an expedited visa processing.

safex101:
Yes I did, paid with my paypal

That's rare for eTs!!!

safex101:
Hello House,

I was scheduled to write GRE Aug 4th but I just received an email that I have been rescheduled for Sept 29th. That date is too late as most of the schools I am applying to for spring has their deadline for 15th Sept. Is there a way I can reschedule or a number to call?

.


I thought you registered yourself

[quote author=sofadj post=47938538][/quote]Lastly, I am yet to receive your call baba. You balling huh? Congrats, See you soon!!!

ridsan4real:
Hello house. Please does full scholarship (GA/TA) covers accommodation also? Thanks

No it does not but it is possible for them to secure your accommodation for you while there is a payment plan for which you will be automatically billed every month from your student account. This may require you to tease your financial aid department about such possibilities-ofcourse it worked for me.

4kings:
This is very brilliant and educative, waiting for the big bang post.

Thank you 4kings, I am on it!!!

Reconciling Evolutionism and Creationism (Part 1)
By Lasisi Olanrewaju

In 2014, arguing that God is not a magician with a magic wand, Pope Francis said of evolution as “not being inconsistent with the notion of creation because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve”. Many might have seen the Pope as being heretic and thus guilty of apostasy- this set of people would possibly call me a withersake who tries to reconcile Creationism (which have certainty without proof) and Science(which have proof without certainty). This is not the case as I will try without being neither too technical (because of my academic background as an archaeologist) nor be too religious (because of my religious doctrine) to illustrate critically without prejudice that “creationism is the certainty of science and science, the proof of creationism”.

It is a truism that there is God- this can be seen from the miraculous acts performed in the days of old as well as today, I certainly have no reason to doubt the plausibility of God as the intelligent designer who created the universe in 6 working days- this is because God is omnipotent and can do anything. However, it’s important that we
consider the fossil record which shows the evolution of species through time. God is certainly not a cosmic hoaxer who made man in a day and still deposited extinct and extant fossils within stratigraphic layers for the sole aim of confusing mankind. Therefore the need to critically see that the two supposed disparate lines (evolution and creation) “is a
continuum of proofs and certainty” which such must be evaluated logically.

Often time, we talk about God’s potency for creating everything created in six days and rested on the seventh but we never thought God could have done all in a day or in two seconds. I know if we read that God did
created the universe in one second, we all wouldn’t believe it’s possible in six days even if fossil record shows that it’s in six days. In like manners, we find it difficult to see the illumination offered by the fossil record because we cannot question the Holy Book, because we only focus on the final product of things without considering the processes that led to it. It is on this note that I agree with Thorndike that “the purposelessness of a behavior can cloak the aimlessness of its origin”. I will not be ignorantly cloaked- not to see how the fossil records- which observing them is of a truth like holding up an opaque mirror to oneself. Although the image may not be crystal clear or indeed what some would consider flattering but it is certainly familiar enough to be illuminating.

The Holy book clearly affirms that without faith, it is impossible to please God. The reason for this understanding in the concept of God is because Himself is FAITH. He is the embodiment of possibilities amidst what seems impossible and if you must be a partaker of this grace of calling the things that do not exist as though they do, then you must also operate with Faith. This is the reason why when you pray, you immediately have the confirmation that the God of faith has answered that prayer and that it requires a “process for it to manifest”. It is in like
manners when He said “Let there be light-and there was light”. If God were to be a magician, the light would indeed be without a process but God is not a magician which is the reason why for God to cause rain upon the surface of the earth, the downpour never come from nothing but will happen through a process that involves evaporation to cloud
formation and then condensation/downpour. Without the knowledge of this process, man would have said “God just made it to rain just like that. I mean within just 2seconds it began to rain”. But through science we can see that there was an underlining factor which brought about the downpour and the factor was a process.

In the Genesis (Genesis 1 vs. 1-11) of Creationist creationism, the process was demonstrated when He created Light before grasses (to allow for growth through photosynthesis), and animals at a later time so as they can feed on the grasses. Even water bodies before the fishes (why not Pisces before the water bodies? Because the Master Planner believes in process and compatibility). What would man have eaten and how will man see his frontal horizon if he was created on the first day? God wouldn’t have done that because he also created evolutionary mechanisms alongside all His creatures.

The universe created in six working days? That is amazing but not spectacular enough as I believe the omnipotent God could have created the universe and all its fullness within two seconds because two seconds in man’s sight is much more in the sight of God. We must understand that man does have a limitation-it’s the temporal limitation-
but God is not affected by the concept of time. Little wonder the Psalmist (Psalm 90 vs. 4) states that “a day to the lord is as a thousand years” and a thousand year as one day (2 peter 3 vs 8 ). What if God sees it as a day to a million, who is to question?

In Hebrew 11 vs. 3, we can’t but accept the creationist theory except through faith- “through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God………………”-World could be cosmos (of place) or aion (of ages, span). The original Greek translation of world in this scripture is aion and if this be, we are then talking about something that is of
different periods, of ages and not just of a moment. Having established the chronological connections of the world within the literally six days of creation, evolutionism becomes a suspect to the proof of the certainty of a creationist view. Evolutionism thus gains more credence when we consider the word framed” in the same verse. “Frame” is from the Greek word "katartizo" and it's means to mend, to repair, to fix until it is perfect and complete. In the process of repair, then we begin to think of a form of transitioning from one point (realm, condition) to another. It implies growth, change, process, evolution and not a mystical appearance of things.

On Big Bang as the starting point of life, I will discuss it more technically in the second part of this post but we can meditate in the meantime, what the other Holy Book (Quran Al Anbya 21 vs. 30) has to say in support of it-“Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as ONE UNITED PIECE, then we PARTED them? And we have made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?”. To corroborate the biblical position of a good end product of what God created, Quran (As-Sajdah) asserts that “Allah who made everything He has created good, He BEGAN the creation of man………”. You may wonder why it’s not “Allah who made everything He has created good, instantly made man”. Apparently, the word “BEGAN” is
talking about the processes involved in the becoming of Homo sapiens- the anatomical modern man and this process is called EVOLUTION!!!



https://m.facebook.com/lasisilanre1/photos/a.164161900651823.1073741828.164147810653232/211452675922745/?type=3&refid=17&_ft_=top_level_post_id.1366570183356390%3Atl_objid.1366570183356390%3Athid.100000102640966%3A306061129499414%3A2%3A0%3A1470034799%3A-7300148045686919369&__tn__=%2As

gunther6:
My POE transcript as promised...

I appreciate everyone on this thread including obvious deliverance cases(I won't mention name we know them), I have been mulling schooling in the US for a while but it just never felt right until a year ago. It was ultimately this thread that gave me enough 'ginger' to go all the way.

My flight started in Lagos breezed through preliminary checks had a few foodstuffs , I just gave the custom guys 2k I don't have time things got interesting with the NDLEA guys near the boarding gate, those guys were all over me. I went to the Emirates boarding gate 53 or something I don't remember.

Someone asked me how I upgraded to Business class, my mom transferred some of her frequent flyer miles to me with $25/1000miles or something + 200k which is not a bad deal at all.

I got to Dubai and was passed through fast track and proceeded to the Business lounge to chill where it got rather boring, the 8hr 25mins wait was the longest in my life so I got out and found a restaurant to eat, all was well and god until I saw a bill of 300AED , bottom line everything you pay for at Dubai international is expensive down to the USB cord I bought for $28. I wanted to just die.

By the time I got on the Dubai to Chicago flight I was already suffering from flu and sore throat, I could not eat nor drink anything, the only time I ate I could not keep it down so I stuck to just tea and a single cup of wine. We were delayed at O'Hare for like 20 mins before disembarking.

So I just disembarked and joined the not so long line to the CBP.

CBP : Why are you in the United states
GT : For my graduate studies specifically a Masters in Economics at Illinois State University

CBP : Place four fingers on your right hand on the scanner
GT : I did

CBP : (Circled my custom form A and my passport to as admitted) next thing he said I can't confirm from your school officer here you have , wait by that glass my colleague will be here to get you
GT : in my mind (you better don't let the devil use you, blood of Jesus, blood of Jesus )

Two mins later a colleague showed up and showed me into a waiting room where I found a lot of people waiting every student I interacted with that was a student at Dubai international so I relaxed. They were calling up people for secondary interview they picked some passports and went to lock it up inside those ones own don be.

Five minutes later my passport was handed to.me signed by DHS and I went to get my back, I got to customs handed in my blue form no one asked me any question about what I was carrying and all.

I took an ATS (airport transit shuttle) to Terminal 1 walked like 15 mins to the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) train for $5 to the Union station from where I trekked to the greyhound station.


This is my first time in the US but as a fairly frequent traveller to the Middle east and Europe I have seen more impressive infrastructure, the infrastructure particularly the bridges I saw were particularly old and rusty

Congrats. Are you aware that your head is very valid?

gunther6:
My people , my people I don dey Chi town... I dey greyhound station I'm going to upload pictures JCHI if you like go and die

I dey with you man!!!

nellyalph:
11th August with Qatar from Lagos, anyone out there??

I hope you will see because I am yet to see any myself.

LagosismyHome:
I would have thought Lagos to Washington Dulles would be expensive....... BWI (Baltimore, MD) maybe cheaper blc DC airports route are more expensive

Yes you are right but I got lagos to washington Dullies at a cheaper rate than to BWI. You know it also depends on the time and day. It may be a good idea for him to check the two.

femi321:
thank you for this..i will check it out

Lag to washington with Qatar or etihad around that time may be less than 220k

purplesummer:
Lols. I am as black as the Nigerian soil. I am MADE OF BLACK

Somebody is made of Black, that person is guiness. Lol

femi321:
Dear Gurus, please what is the best rout interms of cost to Charlotte in North Carolina from Lagos.Between 13th- 16th August. I have search for flights to Atlanta which is beside NC but its not friendly. All these prices i am seeing for flight are not friendly at all...I need to save every naira i can save..Edakun, give me suggestions on how to travel at a low cost. any airline is fine by me so far i get to my destination...

Lagos to Washington then to NC may be cool.

ormorteey:
The aim of the interview is to check you against section 214(b) and you must watch out for such questions and here is it in your own case,

VO: WHY DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE US?
ME: I'M GOING TO THE US FOR FURTHER STUDIES PRECISELY TO PURSUE AN MBA DEGREE WITH AN OPTION IN ACCOUNTING.

you could have nailed it. Check Oludare1 transcript how he described the new fund Nigeria government established and he connected why he was going to the US with something with high probability of bringing him back to Nigeria. Whenever you get such questions, it's your opportunity to nail the interview and receive the white paper.

I believe you will make it, reapply and refire.

I think that's motivational.
*now reapply and fire-God help this time!!!

brightify:
with my little understanding I see nothing wrong with this transcript,and i actually do not know your level of confidence and how you responseded when answering the questuons.but my advice is to pray like ever before because you only need God intervention

Exactly