If You Intend To Travel Abroad, Read These 30 Reactions Carefully To Avoid Embarrassment

Work, school, and life in general can be stressful, but imagine having to travel outside Nigeria to relax after all the stress already encountered to find that almost everything you know here amounts to nothing. As in, that they are almost completely useless in the West, Europe or in general term, the abroad. Imagine the embarrassment!


It is a giving that the culture (or mentality, if you like) in Nigeria is different from what is obtainable in the United States, the United Kingdom or anywhere else in the world for that matter. However, if you are ever in doubt as to how very different it can be, these photos or screenshots will definitely put you in a good place.








For this piece, we would use Twitter reactions of Nigerians who live abroad after Olabinjo Adeniran asked them to share their experiences.

Most of these reactions are hilarious, but let us begin with this one which I found really amusing.


You know how we like to greet in Nigeria. In the popular parlance, we can greet for Africa! With and for everything, including for sitting and doing nothing. Here, "Happy new month" is as common and normal as "Good morning" but in the country where Fluffy Akara resides, it is an awkward salutation.






Have you ever greeted someone and they made you feel stupid?






Emeka must think that cities in the abroad are the same as places like Lagos, Aba, or Onitsha, where there are no bus stops or a place where commercial bus drivers stop to pick passengers indiscriminately.

After standing and hailing for 2 hours or more, I am sure he learnt his lessons, albeit, the hard way.







We honk unnecessarily in Nigeria! Our friends and families who live abroad cannot emphasise this enough. A friend of mine told me sometime ago that in his five years of stay in the UK, he had not heard a car horn more than thrice.

In the words of Dasoye, Nigerians "use horns like hoodlums".






Alkasim was surprised that he got to his destination exactly the time his host told him. He had expected to get there later because in Nigeria, there would be traffic, police stop and check, and most importantly, eating at Ore (our brothers and sisters who travel to Lagos from the east will totally relate to this).






Nigeria policemen can do this. In fact, there were reports that they helped a pregnant woman with her car problem somewhere in Lagos last week. But how often do we read such reports? What's more, many Nigerians did not believe the story.






If you are 'lucky' to be a university graduate at the age of 21 in today's Nigeria, I wonder if you would be ready enough (financially and otherwise) to take a wife. However, if you're travelling to somewhere like the United States, for instance, do not be surprised to find married 21-year-olds.

Please, do not use the word "Sorry" indiscriminately to avoid being embarrassed with questions like "what are you sorry for?"






I found this especially hilarious. Imagine rushing to iron your clothes because you come from a place where electricity is unstable.

A friend of mine who travelled to Ghana on holidays was constantly on her toes because somewhere in her subconscious, she thought that "NEPA will take the light".






Imagine the shame and embarrassment Naija Farmer's wife felt when she realised that kissing is a form of greeting. Dear Nigerian woman, do not embarrass yourself like Naija Farmer's wife, learn the French culture today.






Can any Nigerian church ever do this? Your guess is as good as mine.






The political class abroad somewhat understand that they work for the people. Therefore, if you witness or hear a story as the one above, do not be surprised by it.






There is no gainsaying that Nigerians like to hide their age, however, it is the direct opposite in a country like the United States. Do not feel awkward or embarrassed if you meet someone and they freely tell you their age.






Solaripe felt embarrassed that her boss always thanked her for the hard work she put in. You do not blame her, do you? The average Nigerian employer can never do such. I mean, why should they when they pay for your services?






They do not believe in witches and wizards, hence they speak freely about their life and challenges.






If a fellow student, flat mate, colleague or even a total stranger does not respond to your salutation, do not take it to mean that they do not like you, they are 'carrying shoulder' or that you both are fighting. No. It is only natural for people to mind their businesses.






Drugs and medicines are synonyms, but by all means, learn the appropriate words or common usage in your new country.

If you are familiar with the Igbo snack, abacha, you would agree that it makes no sense to prepare it without pepper. Did you know that one of my friends spent hours looking for pepper in a supermarket in the UK? Because she could not find that one condiment which makes all the difference, she almost gave up on her choice of meal until a messiah showed up and informed her that it is known as chili. Funny as this story seems, she felt ashamed and embarrassed.






Meeting public figures such as politicians in a public bus or train is absolutely normal. However, Kal-Empire felt embarrassed by this because he comes from a place where politicians are celebrated. A place where sycophancy is the order of the day. Imagine that that scenario played out in Nigeria; Mr Ayinde's response would be little compared to reality.






For the records, traffic rules are different abroad. Nigerians are used to running across roads even in places where there are pedestrian bridges. On the hand, road users in Nigeria do not help matters. Think about it, how many times has a driver applied their brakes for you to cross the road?

In Nigeria, we are conditioned to think that people who have tatooes are wayward or socially misfit, but that is not exactly the case. People get tatooes because they love them. Others might get them because they are symbolic.






Do not feel embarrassed if a total stranger walks up to you and begins to tell you the story of their life or about something that bothers them. To be open is completely normal in some countries abroad. Like someone questioned earlier, they do not have witches and wizards.






I cannot emphasise this enough. Tattooes do not mean that people are weirdos. Wearing a tattoo does not mean that a person is bad. You may have your reservations about that pastor, but I am sure you get the point.






Again, people like to mind their businesses. That they do not respond to your salutation does not mean that they are racists. It is simply their way of life.






Ekhamane must have been embarrassed by those old people. His kind gestures come from a place of respect for the elderly, but those people have a different mentality.

In Nigeria, certain old people might consider such gestures as their rights as elderly people. Did you read about one popular elderly man who had a squabble with a young Nigerian man in an aircraft? The elderly wanted the young man to move from his allocated spot for him so that he could overlook the plains.






I wish I could use the rolling on the floor laughing emoji here, so that you can understand how hilarious I found these. We greet too much in this country.






Stores have return policies for items bought. For clothes, I hear that so long as the label(s) are intact, you can return and get a refund. Which seller does that in Nigeria? Did I hear you mutter those online marketplaces in Nigeria?






Again, traffic rules abroad are different from what we have in Nigeria.






Ah! This cracked me up real hard. "Na lon" indeed. Imagine the confusion on both their faces.






If you ever get offered an alcoholic drink by your pastor or a church member in the US or UK, do not feel embarrassed.

One Sunday evening, a friend in the UK shared an image of a can of Guinness Stout with me. He said it was given to him in a church group meeting. Our holier than thou attitude in Nigeria makes these things seem awkward.

There are crass differences between Nigerian university lecturers and their counterparts abroad. If you want to learn more about these differences, click here.