Category: Travel

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How to approach a customs officer at the airport

I have been to numerous airports and it outstands me how many of my fellow Africans get it wrong at the airport. My people, please please realise that you are already black. What do I mean by that, I mean that you stand out from the crowd. And if you are Black and Nigerian, note that you are like a lighthouse at midnight i.e. Everyone sees you! Here are my tips of how to approach a customs officer, tips to hopefully make your humiliation less disturbing.

Tip 1: Dress like a human being

I am sorry but some of you dress like you are going to the market and have never travelled in your life. Dress the way you want to be treated…It’s that simple

Tip 2: Leave that “Ghana must go” at home

I understand that maybe you just managed to scramble money together for a ticket but help your fellow countrymen out by scrambling money together for a decent hand luggage. There is no point looking poor, the officers (especially those ones at Heathrow airport) will assume you have come to their land to drain their resources. #ProveThemWrong

Tip 3: Don’t talk too much

   When a customs officer asks a simple question, please give a simple answer. There is no point delivering an essay. It will only get you into trouble.

Tip 4: Don’t look intimidated

   I believe customs officers try to intimidate you simply to catch you out. I say “don’t play their game”. You know what you came for, certainly not to entertain this nonsense.

Tip 5: Don’t be chatting to you fellow countrymen in the immigration line

As in when you get off that plane, keep your eye on the prize (i.e. The airport exit). I am sure you know that there are cameras everywhere once you get off the plane. They are watching your every move so don’t let someone else’s drama suddenly become yours. No, Thank you!

 

To all our travellers out there that have been humiliated at airports across the globe, please share some tips so that we are well equipped for the Airport Saga. Perhaps you have some other tips to share, please share 🙂

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Last Night on the streets of Fontainebleau

So I really should be studying for this marketing exam that is taking place in less than 12 hours but I am tired. There is only so much one can absorb after so many hours. I am itching to write about my experience last night so here goes. It’s nothing ground breaking, it is just a conversation I had.As I was walking home alongside a classmate last night at about 10pm, having spent hours trying to understand difficult concepts of ‘Corporate Financial Policy’ which I am still not sure I quite understand. Let me try not to digress. So, as I was walking along the quiet streets of Fontainebleau, I saw the cutest dog ever (I think she was swiss mountain dog #CutestDogEver…I plan on stealing her the next time I see her). I went over to the dog to pet her as she was truly adorable. The owner told me not to worry that the dog was friendly. As I pet the dog, I started a conversation with this lady (a very good-looking, older mature woman –its crazy how younger women look these days #TheCompetitionIsGettingTougher lol).She asked me whether I studied at INSEAD, to which I responded positive. She then went on to tell me about her journey through life. She told me how she just moved back here to Fontainebleau (a town where she raised her kids). She told me of her journey of travel around the world to the U.S.A and around Europe. She told me of her joy and happiness of being back in a town she loved. She then proceeded to ask me what my plans after INSEAD were in regard to where I would move to. I responded that I was keeping my options open but would love to be back in Africa at some point. She asked whether I was married and I responded ‘no’.After I responded ‘no’, she mentioned how she was brought up in the 40’s and how life was much different then and how there was a huge pressure to get married at a very young age. She said ‘Then, if you weren’t married by the age of 25, you were an OLD maid and no one wanted to be that’. She said we were lucky in this generation that we could make our own choices without so much scrutiny from society. She said she was married at 18 alongside most of her friends and started bearing kids at a very young age. She talked of her stories of attended evening school to brush up on skills with her little toddlers. She talked about how she and all her friends were very dependent on their husbands. She also said her alongside 99% of all her friends that got married then were now divorced.

She left me with this: ‘Keep building you and remember, First of all to take care of YOU’

For some reason, I was left with goose bumps after speaking to her. Her message of me taking care of me struck a chord and I can’t explain it but I feel different now than I felt before I met her. I don’t think it’s necessarily profound but its simplicity runs deep.

With that I leave you….

#SassyFunke