LATEST AMERICANA ON THE BLOCK, ABOUT A MONTH IN THE STATES.

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

 So that’s all folks, at least for now. Abeg, before you people start asking me JAMB questions about migrating to the US, I just got here o, so I don’t know much, LOL. I plan to keep you updated via my blog and YouTube, as I settle in and navigate what it means to be a Nigerian-Canadian transplant in the States. So please keep me in your good thoughts and prayers.

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. 😊