Coming to America! Episode I- Johnny Just come!

I left Lagos, Nigeria on the 19th of December, 2009 and arrived New York on the 20th of the same month. I wish I could write how exciting I felt about the journey. Honestly, I wasn’t.  When my flight left Lagos, I didn’t get the memo that I had a connecting flight in Dubai enroute to New York.  Don’t get me wrong, Dubai international airport is definitely first class. It’s like walking on the street of gold! While others were excited about the stop,  I was just miserable that I had to wait for almost 6 to  7 hours, for my connecting flight to New York. I was so nervous that no one would wake me up, if I slept and I’ll probably miss my flight, lol!

To “add salt to injury” as my Nigerian peeps will say. Incase you are wondering , this means to “make matters worse”.

I was not allowed to board the flight, when it finally arrived, because I forgot to sign my American passport.  This simple act started a series of interrogation, by the security at the Dubai airport. They wanted to be sure that I wasn’t lying about my identity, or trying to enter the United States illegally. Other passengers, stared at me as though, I possessed some lethal weapon or illegal drug, and quickly walked passed me without uttering a word. Finally,  Several phone calls were made to the U. S embassy to verify my documents, and I was finally cleared. I guess the officials realized that I was a novice, original “Jonny Just Come” Lol! They apologized and let me go. At this point, I was fed up, and could not wait to arrive New York.

“Fasten your seat belt, this plane will land in 20 minutes……” The pilot’s voice over the speaker woke me up from my deep sleep, as we  approached the J. F. Kennedy international airport. I wasn’t necessarily paying attention to the tons of instructions given, I was more concerned about what to do. The freezing temperature that welcomed me at the airport was unfriendly. I was freezing!! Nobody warned me that New York was that cold! For goodness sake I arrived the airport clothed in casual tee top, pair of jeans and sneakers. It felt like I was dropped into a ” bucket filled with ice” lol! Between the cold weather, asking questions and finally figuring out where to claim my baggage. I was pretty exhausted and ready to run back to the motherland, lol!

“Surely! NewYork, the one that I had read about and watched in the movies, numerous times, was staring at my face!  I was staring right back at it with a look of mixed feelings”

I quickly scrambled through my purse to search for the piece of paper that had the contact number . I made the call and announced my arrival to a lady that I was going to meet in person for the first time.  ” Akudo Ekeke ? ” I heard my name from behind, as I turned to see who called my name. This lady walks towards me with a smiling face and briefly introduced herself and we exchanged pleasantries. Of course, I was quiet most of the times, while she did most of the talking. Finally, we rode the train to the Grey hound Bus station. Apparently, this was going to be my transportation to my final destination.

“It was a long, long, ride!!!!”

…..to be continued!!!

Yours truly

this nigerian_chic  💋 💋 💋