Concluding part of Isunu’s Canadian university application and student visa process. She has successfully submitted all her documents to the Canadian High Commission and is waiting to hear back on her student visa. Kindly say a prayer of success for her if you are reading this. Update Oct 13th 2018- Isunu reached out to me to share the good news! She got her student visa and is coming to Ontario early next year. I am so excited for her ???????…
Guest Feature 3: Isunu Part 1
written by Akata Salowo
Ladies and gentlemen, I was positively stunned when Isunu reached out to me on my Twitter and IG pages. She wanted to share her story on the blog about how she applied to a Canadian university from Nigeria, and subsequently a student visa. I’m used to people reaching out to me, to ask for help (which is fine by the way), so imagine how gobsmacked I was that she was willing to share names, details, and contacts from her experience.…
BMG Goes to School
written by Akata Salowo
I truly feel like Eze, in Eze Goes to School– that novel that was a right of passage for anyone who enrolled in primary school in the 80s in Nigeria. This past week (my 1st week at school), I have had to come to terms with learning in a controlled environment; working on assignments and quizzes for grades; and being a team player to my 15 classmates. I’m sure a lot of you are wondering why/when I decided to go…
Guest Feature 2: Olubunmi
written by Akata Salowo
Bunmi like me, moved to Ontario in April of 2018. She is very much in the honeymoon phase 🙂 that’s why she’s talmabout Canada having such great weather…loool… if I hear, when winter’s comes ehn?? Bunmi is a bubbly soul, and I enjoyed reading from her. Hope you do too, and please support her cooking business. Direct link to her business IG page below: 1. Introduce yourself in an artistic way (You can chose to give your government name or…
House sharing: Factors to consider
written by Akata Salowo
There is a housing challenge in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area); I did a Twitter thread about it. Painfully so, because Ontario has the highest population of people in Canada. Also, because this appears to be the 1st city of choice for new immigrants. Toronto is also prided to be the most diverse city in all Canada. While this is amazing in terms of helping you settle in faster, it is horrible in finding a decent place for you to…
Guest Feature: Miss P
written by Akata Salowo
Dear Team BlackMigrantGirl Blog, I am eager about celebrating my black sisters and brothers who have migrated on their own terms from wrongly perceived ‘third world’ countries to Canada. This newly introduced guest feature will on a month to month basis share the inspiring stories of these everyday people. Their courage in leaving all that they know behind and their drive to begin all over again, in a new country; new region is worth celebrating. This 1st guest feature is…
I failed my road test
written by Akata Salowo
Yes, I did. Full stop. END OF STORY … … ???? Pardon me, I’m still recovering from the heartbreak of failing the test. Me, a very qualified and cautious driver in all of Nigeria? One who went to a driving school in Lagos? I’m the only person I know who actually performed a driving test at FRSC (Federal Road Safety Corps) before my Nigerian Driver’s license was issued? How can I now arrive here and fail a G2 drive test…
A Tale of Two Picnics
written by Akata Salowo
What happens to a puff-puff uneaten? Does it shrivel up or grow cold Does its texture become harder with gradual exposure to the elements or does it simply find its way to the gullet of someone else? I pondered these words- a mutilated version of Langston Hughes, Harlem, as I returned home at 8 pm on Saturday, 30th June 2018. I had spent the most part of that day navigating my way to Mississauga Valley Park for a picnic organized…
The road to financial freedom
written by Akata Salowo
This past Saturday was a busy and interesting day for me. I was up as early as 7 am to attend two events in the Mississauga area. The 1st event was on financial literacy. A polite Nigerian gentleman I met at a previous Nigerian event works for the organizing company. He has been very dogged in trying to convince me to attend one of the classes. Yesterday morning he offered to drive me to the event venue and I obliged…
People Disappear… In Canada too?
written by Akata Salowo
Oh yes, they do. In my 4th week here, attending interviews out and about in the York University area, I chanced upon a ‘Missing’ poster. It came complete with a full description of the physical features of the missing person. She was a young, undergraduate, last seen a couple of weeks before, at a bus station, walking home. My first reaction was shock, then disbelief and probably horror. I think the reason for my shock was that I wasn’t expecting…