Hello hi,
It’s been another long while. I’m sorry that I have
been away but I hope you can understand why after reading this. A lot of things
have happened since the last time I wrote, so I just want to check in and
update you all. I’ve been getting many questions and comments such as: when are
you back from Europe? What are you doing in the States? Did you move? So here I
am to clarify information to whom it may concern, lol.
Did I move?
Several weeks ago, I made the brave decision to move
to the United States of America; so yes, I have moved out of Canada to
Minnesota. You might be wondering, why Minnesota? Well, I got a job here and
after much long and hard thoughts, prayers, advice, and discussions, I decided
it was the right next step to take. I call my decision “brave” because as a
black woman who was living somewhat comfortably in Canada, the States would not
necessarily be the next best thing that one would think about. I don’t want to
go into US politics or the environment but I’m sure most people are aware of
the climate in the States. Secondly, I had other great job offers, including
one in Canada which seemed to be my dream job, had I not gotten the US job
offer first. Therefore, a part of me felt crazy for leaving behind a great job
offer but a bigger part of me wanted to explore and viola, I moved here.
What kind of job did I get?
It’s an academic type of job in health, although it is
not a University. I am an Epidemiologist, so I do health research and my focus
is still in maternal and child health.
How was the moving process?
I have been living in the States for just about a month,
but I still feel unsettled. Surprisingly, this move has been one of the most
stressful moves of my life. This is the fifth (maybe fifth and half if you
count Norway) time I have moved countries, so I thought this one would be easy
breezy, especially as I was still moving within the same continent. Alas, it
has not been so, although God has sent me helpers every step of the way,
thankfully. As some of you may know, I was in Norway for about 3 months as a
visiting researcher. So when I came back to Canada, I had exactly one month to
move out of the place to a new country. This meant that I had to find someone
to live in my place, pack my things, get rid of or sell things that I could not
carry, find a new place in Minnesota, finish up projects and kick off some
projects, say goodbyes amongst many other things! In between these, I had a conference to
attend, and I had to renew my Nigerian passport, both of which I had to travel
for. So when I tell you that I felt and still feel like I’m on a fast moving
track, almost as quickly as Amusan was running during the World Champion in
athletics, I’m not exaggerating. Also, my sincere apologies if I did not get to say goodbye (properly) before I left.
How did I move my stuff?
I managed to pack my things slowly before moving but
finding a moving company was hard because it looked like the whole world was moving
at the same time. I eventually decided to use UPS which I scheduled for pick up
a week before my travel. Guess what, they picked up my stuff just a day before
my trip to the US! As if their incompetence was not enough, my belongings which
were supposed to arrive a couple of days after I travelled, just came in last
night (I kid you not – after one month!). And to add insult to injury, not all
of them have arrived and some of those arrived were damaged. So as you may be
wondering what I have been wearing, I have managed with the few clothes and
items in my luggage that I checked in on the plane. I did not carry too many
clothes on the flight as I was hopeful that my items with UPS would arrive on
time: so I carried mostly my documents, irreplaceable stuff, and food items that
were semi-perishable. I have had to spend the last one month calling UPS almost
every day to find out where my packages were, and the calls mostly involve multiple
transfers to different departments which have sucked up several hours each day.
They made me feel out several forms and send it to them many times, yet no news.
Finally, it turned out that my items were just sitting in their warehouse for
no good reason. My experience with UPS has been hell, so if you’re ever
thinking about using them, don’t!
Have I settled in?
So yeah, UPS has definitely affected my speed of
settling in the US so far, since I have not unpacked anything. However, getting
social security number (SSN) in the US has been just as stressful. I went the
first time during my conference visit in Chicago to try to get my SSN but after
waiting for an hour, I was told that my H1B (work) visa had not yet been
activated. So once I finally moved officially to the US, after my visa was
activated, I went again to an SSN office in Minnesota, queued up again and
after an hour, was told that it was not the correct SSN office. Hmmm! I went early
the next day to the correct office and stood in the hot sun for more than 4
hours. When I got into the building, it was almost like they only had 2 staff
working on the day, hence the snail movement. I finalized the SSN application
quickly, or so I thought. I was told that my SSN card would be mailed out
within 2 weeks, but the card did not come. I called them, they said they would
mail out a new one which would take another 2 weeks but there was no guarantee that
it would come, can you imagine? They also did not have any tracking or anyway
to expedite the process. So I had to go back to the office, just this week, to
queue up again and get them to mail it to my new apartment. Thankfully, the
queue took only 2 and half hours this time and the weather was not as
hot. Fingers crossed that it comes soon, because if you know anything about the
States, you would know that everything is tied to your SSN (for Nigerians, it’s
like BVN) – you can’t get a credit card, no permanent telephone number; the
whole thing is a mess. I have been shocked
about how the system does not track and improve the process for such an important
document.
How have I managed so far?
Moving on to better news, other than these unfortunate
events mentioned above, I have been well received by my few friends, acquaintances,
and colleagues here. My friend, Gucci, has been gracious and let me stay at her
place for 2 weeks while I was home hunting, and fed me abundantly: God bless
you dear. Her sisters and friends, and people that I have been connected
to, have also been very kind. My colleagues have been donating stuff to me and
driving me around…so really, I know that God is by my side, as always and
everything will work out for my good, Amen.
How have I been finding Minnesotans so
far?
I had heard about “Minnesota niceness” before moving here,
but perhaps because I’m coming from Canada, I don’t feel it. I’d say people in
Canada are much more polite, although I noticed here that you are more likely
to get a hi from a random person, than in Canada. Sometimes, I look back to be
sure that they are speaking to me, lol.
The weather?
I think the summer is a bit milder than in Montreal. There
have been some super hot days but mostly, it’s been manageable.
Any culture shock yet?
Besides the random hellos, I think one of my biggest
shock was going to the office and seeing a sign at the entrance that said, “No
guns allowed”. It took me a short while to understand why such a sign would
even exist in a health organization.
My new apartment?
It’s really nice; it’s a brand new building close to
shops, amenities, work, and the airport. The downside is the loud noises of
planes; I mean it feels like I live on the airport track. Also, my apartment is
next to a main road, so I also get car noises ☹
As a matter of fact, I tried to change rooms a few days ago but it did not work
out. On the bright side, there’s a nice outdoor swimming pool which I used this
morning and lots of amenities e.g., gym, coffee, in the building.
Have I done any sightseeing?
Not yet, because I’ve been dealing with the challenges
I mentioned. I only went to the Minnesota Institute of Arts (MIA), which was
lovely but large, so I was not able to finish look at even a quarter of the
place. I plan to go back. I also went to Minnehaha falls with my boss, it was a
beautiful sight.
Do you miss Canada?
I try not to live my life missing people or things
that I can go back to, if I need to. This is my way of adjusting to a new
place, and not dwelling in regret, otherwise I would not have moved this much
in my life. And I consider every new move as an opportunity to experience new
places, people, culture, and to grow both personally and otherwise. I hope this
answers your question 😊 Nonetheless,
I have missed having conversations in French or at least trying to (specific to
Montreal) and the good public transportation system I enjoyed in Montreal and
Vancouver.
How can I be reached?
My Canadian WhatsApp number still works so if you had
it before, you can still use it. Otherwise, emails, social media, my blog here,
and the traditional way of letter writing is available to you if you have my
home address, lol. If you’re going to call me, please Google time in Minnesota
so that you don’t call me at ungodly hours. :P
Thank you very much for reading and supporting me. Please don’t forget to subscribe to my Blog and Youtube Channel (VivioGogo) and share with your friends.
Also follow me on Instagram @ugochiukah and @lavivisblog, and on twitter @vivio_gogo . Until next time, stay safe. XOXO, God bless. 😊
