Every Nigerian international student can relate to this. – EliteElites
Common misconceptions about International students by their friends and families back home (In Nigeria).
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This is a topic that NEEDS to be addressed. Without wasting any time, let’s get straight into it:
1. They have a lot of money: Before I begin, there is a question that is frequently asked by the international students to those who think this : “Did you give us any money?”
One thing a lot of people don’t know is that some international students enter a foreign country with as little as $100. To answer your question, $100 is not a lot of money. Keep this in mind; not everybody is loaded. A student is a student, international or not. Matter of fact, aside from the jaw dropping tuition, there are lots of other bills to pay such phone bills, rent, gas money, etc. Jand is a civilized space so you can’t even stall or finesse your way out of paying any of your bills. Also, in some countries like America where the transport system ain’t that good everywhere, you’ll be forced to buy a car. This is especially common when students try to get out of paying ridiculously high rent by living off campus in a cheaper and nicer apartment. This makes your housing far from campus and thus, you go on to buy a car only for you to be stuck paying a very high monthly car insurance. America said; one way or the other, you must spend that money. Speaking from experience dears.
Again, international students are not permitted to work unless it’s an on-campus job and they barely even pay enough to cover your house rent. Take it from me guys, juggling school and work can be really depressing. So please, instead of telling them to “drop something for the boys”, support them anyway you can. Thank you.
2. They are always balling: This is another common misconception because of their social media posts and stories. The thing is, jand is neat. As in, clean and beautiful. The roads are tarred and having nice benches on the roadside is common. The casual environment looks fancy to the naija eye, so all they have to do is dress up and take pictures outside. If you want proof of that statement, consider what is happening this pandemic. They still post nice pictures despite the lockdown right? My dear, nobody is going anywhere. Sometimes though, they are balling, but not every time.
3. Life is easier for them: I experienced depression for the first time when I relocated to the United State for school during my first semester, freshman year. I eventually got so homesick that I went from listening to my usual Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown and so on, to only playing Afro beat music. In jand, time and tide really waits for no one. There are always deadlines to meet for students and those alone are enough to mess with your head. Also, the struggles become overwhelming and you begin to give up. Next thing, fear of disappointing yourself and your family creeps in. Take it from me elites, jand strugggles will bring you closer to God.
4. The weather affects their hair and makes it softer and curlier:
Please, don’t say that outside. Thank you.
5. Their accent must change:
Honestly, in my opinion, one can have a default foreign accent only when they grow up there. You can’t travel abroad as a grown teenager and your normal naija accent will disappear. I guess it is possible, but I have never seen. People have lived in jand for over 50 years and still retain their normal Nigerian accent. Foreign accents can be picked up and imitated, but just as it was picked up, it can also be dropped. If you have a friend you grew up with that starts speaking with a foreign accent to you after they travel, it is likely they are trying to “form”, or they are deliberately trying to speak better which is good. But the accent you grew up with can’t just disappear like that.
6. They must buy something for you when they come back home:
Bruh If you don’t geddifo-
Look, if you have ever beefed with someone because of this, you are not a nice person. Like I said earlier, a student is a student so please be considerate. Even if they clearly have the money, they are not obligated to buy things for you. If they buy for other people, remember that you are not their only friend or family member, they have a lot of people to think about. If you thought you meant so much to the person but wasn’t included in the gift giving, Pele.
7. They are eating the best types of food:
This one is complicated. Good food is available, but they come with a (ridiculously high) price. What a lot of people don’t know is that in jand, things we eat as snacks in naija such as pizza, french fries/chips, burgers etc, are eaten as food. It’s all fun and games till your bank account begins to thin out and your stomach fattens up. Besides, all these pizza and burger meals eventually get tiring. Even if you don’t get tired of them, you’ll be forced to stop when you start getting fat and when that happens, you’ll realize that jand people no too get beta food like that. Why do you think Bobrisky is always eating rice and stew in Dubai?
Delicacies like eba, amala, ewedu, beans (cooked with palm oil) and baby girl AKA jollof rice are missed. Local ingredients are available but super expensive, plus they are never really the same.
One annoying thing about jand meals is that sugar is added in almost everything including rice, chicken, beef and even beans! Hei. The meat and eggs are almost never fully done and there is nothing like pepper in their dictionary. Trust me, having naija food available is a huge flex.
I hope you enjoyed this. If you have a comment or similar gist to tell, abeg gist us in the comments below. Be sure to share and follow on me on Instagram and twitter for updates. STAY ELITE! (And stay safe, corona still dey).
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