“When I first arrived in Germany about a year ago, I fell ill because the weather was too cold for me to bear. In the end, had to go to the hospital for treatment before I could get myself together again. The weather here in Germany is so bad. During winter, the breeze is so cold that your hands will freeze if you don’t take care of yourself; so you will have to wear like five clothes and a jacket. I enjoy the summer time; summer is the only time you can dress as you like.
The transport system here in Dortmund is different from that which I grew up to know in Nigeria. Everything is timed. If you are going somewhere, you must buy your ticket ahead and when you get to the bus, you present it to driver (or control as we call it here). If you attempt to get on a bus without a ticket and you’re caught you’re in serious trouble.
I can’t say I speak German well but I am trying sha. Because I am going to school here and the curriculum is run in German, I am left with no choice than to learn the language. Germany is a beautiful country, Dortmund is a really fine city to live in but as people say, no matter how beautiful it is here, there is no place like home. There will always be people and experiences that will remind you that you’re away from home.
I miss my family. I miss my agboole friends – I miss all our Ibadan parties. This may sound funny to you but I miss our own form of transport. I miss the life and buzz on the bus – how the conductor will abuse someone and the person too will reply and there’ll be an exchange of words. The bus is always alive in Ibadan, you know that kain thing now.
Above all, I miss amala dudu.”
[END]
