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Date posted:08/04/06
Writing-Art/Memoir

Life In Nigeria

by: Asuanana Etuk

 

When I was at Nigeria, life was so difficult. I was a student. In the school system, you pay for your school fee, and also for everything that is needed in the school. I was so smart that the teacher made me a class monitor. That meant that each time the teacher was not in the classroom, I have to take care of the students. I have to make sure that they did not make noise that will distract fellow classmate. I also have to take the attendance. If the teacher were not able to come to school that day, he or she would have to tell me what I am going to do. I have to be in school early. If the school’s classes began at 8:00 am, I had to be there by 7:00 am or 7:30am, so that I could take the names of latecomers. When I got home, I would eat and take some pure water or younker to sell, so that my family and I could make a profit.

When I came back from selling, I would read my books, and then go to bed. In the morning when I got up, I would pray, sweep the floor and wash the dishes. After that, I would take a bath, and then go to school. One day I got to school late. There is one teacher that students do not like, and he was the one taking the attendance. The attendance shows the number of students that come to school late. Late students were given chores and things to do (like cleaning the school or cutting the grass). But that day, when I get there, the teacher put my name on the list and also bit me for coming to school late. From then on, I promise myself that I would never again be late for school/ When I got home that day, I wrote in my journal and I also put on my calendar. That night I have to stay awake until every one else had gone to bed, so that I could wash the dishes and also sweep the floor.

Then I went to bed, so that when I get up I take my bath and go to school, but this day I would be on time. To get ready to come to America, my family and I had to do so many things before we went to the America embassy to get our visas. We have to get every thing that is needed (like international passport, doctor report and police clearance. So we have to travel from our state to another state called Lagos. We had to take the airplane or buses to Lagos, but the airplane was too expensive so we have to take the buses and the bus is like 12 hours ride. So we get our ticket for the bus and we move from our state at around 7 o’clock with hope that we going to get to the other state at 7 in the morning.

On our way to Lagos state, the two drivels felt asleep and the bus had an accident. I was sleeping because it was at night so I hear people screaming “Jesus!”… I wake up, I think that it was robbers that enter the bus, but it wasn’t. The bus ride into a bush, I thank God nobody was very hurt, so get out from the bush and wait at the road for any other bus that was coming, then they transferred us into another bus. We got to Lagos late. We have to rush to the hospital for the blood tests. Then we went to the American embassy to get our visas, so that we could enter America.

 

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