Arrival

 I joined the US-bound passengers in the boarding area, a crowded room full of bubbling chatter. I struggled to orient myself with what was happening. I offered myself and belonging for security search. Boarding would start based on seat number. Despite my being late, I was called first before most people I found there. 

I was nervous and jittery inside the plane. I was not airplane savvy. Others were behaving and navigating things with fascinating ease. As the journey began, everyone concentrated on their business. Some people focused on movies; others opened laptops to put some finishing touches on some work ahead of their arrival to the US, or send the last-minute emails to their offices. The whole thing took an aura of cosmopolitan persona.

I am not a movie guy. I rummaged through my handbag and picked out Dreams and Assorted Nightmares that I bought in Abuja. Light went off soon after the takeoff, which left me with no option than to close the book.

I switched on the display and monitored the journey. We inched our way bit by bit across the Atlantic Ocean. All the while, I was thinking of the journey of the Blacks across the Atlantic in those deplorable conditions. I glanced at the time often and thought of Nigeria. I was leaving the country at night but instead of meeting morning in the few ours that followed I went straight up into another night.

Twelve hour non-stop was the longest journey in my life. I hazard a guess in the hindsight the reason for that. It was to avoid contact with the sun for a long journey like this since there won’t be a stopover due to Coronavirus restrictions in some countries.  

We arrived Atlanta 6am, 12pm Nigerian time. We deplaned and moved to luggage claim area, then to the Immigration for checks-in. Only then did the lady I supposed to meet in Lagos see me. She had won the same scholarship to teach in the same university I was going. We planned to meet at the airport 6pm before our eventual departure.

Atlanta airport

 

She said she was really concerned when she didn’t see me at the airport. I explained to her what happened. I was surprised she placed me but she said she had seen my pictures on WhatsApp.

At the Immigration, the line would tell you how much traveling is happening in the US. Batches of travelers from all over the world continued to troop in. The checks-in was split into two sections between the US citizens on one side and aliens on another.

The Atlanta airport was disorienting site. For our next flight, we were required to go to a display and check the schedule of the flight. After that, we should go to a tunnel to catch a metro ride to another section of the airport for boarding. It was a bit difficult and confusing.

I saw the lady from Nigeria on one queue and never saw her again. I wondered why I was not there. I had probably lost my way. She later emerged at a lounge area I was sitting for our flight. I asked her where she had been and why she was on that line. She was checking in the foodstuff she traveled with at the Customs. I was traveling light, which explained why I didn’t need to join the queue. Normally, the officers ask passengers if they carry foodstuff. Nobody asked me that, and I think that happens from the size of the bag one carries.

After some two hours of waiting the flight was readied. We were called in for departure. We flashed our tickets on a display panel to authenticate out tickets and arrived Wisconsin in an hour, just like it said on our schedule.

The department had arranged a pickup for us. Upon our arrival at the luggage claim area Michael was there, who is also a Nigerian. No need to even ask a question. We transferred our luggage into the car and drove away.

Our first point of contact was the University Housing Apartments, and into the house of a fellow Nigerian. The initial anxiety was swiftly wiped away with the first contact with the Nigerian food.

It was almost three o’clock. I asked them that I wanted to pray. They showed me to a room; I performed ablution and started the salat repayment. The first time in my adult life I prayed Subhi 3pm.

We then moved to our temporary apartment provided by a staff at one of Africa program offices. We were shown our rooms and the general expectations of our living. Minutes later, we crashed into bed to deal with the jetlag.  

 

Madison, WI