What I wore to church......the jacket is by my side o, I no fit freeze. |
Hello guys (I
seem to be saying Hello…#fakebritishaccent a lot lately, apparently saying good
morning or good afternoon is too formal or weird…..#nathemsabi), how have you
been? I have been good today. My lip swelling has reduced and I read my first
READING in church today……Yaaaaay!!
For those who don’t understand what reading
in church means, let me explain. Usually in Anglican churches (and some other churches)
there are about 2-3 bible passages that would be read at various intervals
before the sermon is preached during a service. They are usually passages that the sermon would
be based on (most of the time, sometimes the sermon is based on a different
passage). And the readers have to come to the pulpit to read the verses. In my
home churches, there are two pulpits: the small pulpit and the big one.
So my
flatmate and I get to church early and were sitting down, when the Irish
evangelist who coordinates the church asks if anyone of us wants to do the
reading. I immediately in my 'chicken state of mind and body' point to my flatmate and she says ‘okay’.
He gives her the bible passage slip and was talking to her when I jokingly said
something and she says why didn’t you do it?. So I say 'give me na' next thing I
know, the guy is giving me the paper for another reading. I am like……'wait a minute' ( in my head), it was a joke. But it
was too late. Anyway since I am conscious of my speech and reading out in
public, I was scared but at least I didn’t die. So ladies and gentlemen of my
blog, I read my first reading today…..#dancingetighi #dancingshoki….ah! shoki…… Where is Moby to
help me dance shoki na?....lol
Okay, enough
of me playing around let me get back to the business of the day. Why do i want a
postgraduate degree? Hmmm, this post was borne out of the wailing comment some
of my classmates and I have been asking. WHO SENT ME MESSAGE?! Honestly I had
seen that comment on a blog, where those who were on their masters program then were commenting on a post some weeks before I arrived here.
Yes, who
sent us message? The amount of reading materials that they keep tossing at us
like it is smarties sweet is incredible. Today you have 3 articles to read, tomorrow
someone says you have to use one program you never heard of before and another day they
tell you to sit down in front of your computer doing one library course for houurrrrrsssss. And
this WEATHER IS NOT HELPING AT ALL!! It is cold.com!! Then assessment are so so
thousand thousand words.......
Sometimes I have
tempted to lament like my classmates but then I remember two things: God and my
love for my course. God has told me countless times that I am here for a
purpose and even though I want to give up at times (I can’t count the times I have
thought of going to heathrow airport and living this place), he reminds that he
is there and of my vision. I have a vision of what I want to do in life and I need
this course to make me a better qualified pharmacist to achieve my goals. So my
dears, those two things are what is keep me going. I have no choice but to stick with it and
be successful and by God’s Grace I would.
Thinking of
how we all feel made me remember some of the reasons I heard from people about
coming here to study for a post graduate degree and I just want to point out
the errors in those thinking. Here are some I have heard (I am sure there are
more):
I want to
use it to travel abroad: That thinking is a total error!! The whole 'I am abroad'
thing would stop shacking (give you pleasure) you within 2 weeks I can assure
you. If the cold doesn’t make you wish for hot sun then the amount of money you
need to settle down would kick your butt because by the time you convert it to
naira (or your currency if your currency is as bad as naira) or homesickness or the amount of
work they tell you that you have during the program on the first week will
shake that feeling off.
I want a
different academic experience: It is a good reason but not strong enough. Their
way of teaching is different and good, yes but there is so much difference that you are
struggling to keep up when you come here. I think it is called Academic shock. I am still
perplexed and struggling to understand some of their dos and don’ts. Hopefully I would
fully understand it soon.
I want to
use it to run away and make money: Don’t even think about it!! When they catch
you ehen…….Shey you know that Buhari is now president….The man is weird enough
to let them deal with you on a whole different level. Just ask our former
ministers and politicians, they would tell you how far…..
I want to
add Masters of blah blah or Doctor of blah blah to my name: If you have only
that purpose for going for a post graduate program, please sit down at home and
drink garri. Be contented with your first degree please, besides the way things
are in Nigeria people don’t seem to value the post graduate degree
qualifications (I might be wrong). You need to want and love the course you
choose. Trust me no course is easy. Each has its own difficulties…..so I would say
love your course and don’t choose it because everyone is choosing it. Imagine if I had chosen Clinical Pharmacy to major in because it apparently
seems that it is the ‘hot’ course in Nigeria, I would have packed my bags a
long time ago. I cannot be inside this cold and the course would be making my
life difficult again for a course I don’t love……..no way, it ain’t worth the
trouble.
I am not
writing this post to discourage anyone but to make you think long and hard about
your decision before you end up making a humongous mistake.
That is all
folks. I need to get back to reading and to warming up with my caffeine free Twinings Strawberry & Raspberry 20 Tea Bags, (4 Boxes) and tesco brand chocolate chip cookies…..yum,
yum…..lol.
Jokes apart I have become a British lady o…..i have been drinking
tea a lot. And since I can’t consume so much caffeine because of my previous
heart issues, I have to look for fun and fitfab type of teas and twinings tea is
the bomb.com. There are so many flavours to choose from but I love this one. It
has an amazing smell and taste. And when I make it I either add a little bit of
sugar or honey (because I have a sweet tooth) but it is still amazing without sugar.
I just want
to say thank you guys for reading my blog. You are all amazing. I was filling a
form and I was asked how many views I get in a month. I was about to fill less
than 500 only for me to check my stats and I see over 2000 views in the last one month. And I am like
‘what the heck?!’, even though i have not been writing so much you guys still check my blog. You guys are just the bomb. Thank you so much…….#kissesfromafakebritishlady
Gotta run
now......……Bye
Luv ya,
Petite Diva
Nice Post.
ReplyDeleteI am also a Nigerian Pharmacist and studying for my Masters in Clinical Pharmacy in the UK and I am doing what I really love to do and have a strong passionate for.
I used to think Public health was the 'hot' course in Nigeria and it seemed every Pharmacist I know was/is going to do Public health. Ironic.
Your post helped me realize how different people perceive different things.
After all is said and done, your advice is very important, "love your course and don't choose it because everyone is choosing it".
In the end each person should be happy and do what exactly they want to do!
*passion
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