"Diary Of A Cross Corper"

Hey Guys!

So this is one very overdue post and I apologise for taking so long but thank God it's finally here! How y'all doing? Personally I feel like I need a vacation where I can just sleep, eat and pamper myself. Oh well if wishes were horses...

Life as a cross corper wasn't exactly rosy but I must say it was better than alright. If you missed my camp experience you can check Here ! Life on camp wasn't one I loved very much, but my experience in boarding school taught me a thing or two which I was able to apply in the orientation Camp.

I remember the day I was given my kit, I just looked at it and smiled. My Khaki was 10 times bigger than me and I had to remove more than half of the whole thing just to get my size. To think that I paid 1500 for each piece of clothing, those mami market people were legit scammers😩 that's why you need to be loaded to an extent when you're going to camp. I was initially posted to one village that I could hardly pronounce the name and it was after obudu. Now From Calabar town to Obudu is six (6) hours, you can then imagine how long it will take to get to that place.
When I saw the posting letter, I was shaking after which I called my dad and told him the state of things. He too shouted "Jesus Christ! " Lol. After some more calls, I was then reposted to National Human Rights Commission in Calabar. Awesome stuff right?😊

One very amazing thing about people in cross river particularly calabar, is that they are extremely hospitable and nice. Once they know you're not from their state, they treat you really well. Do I need to spell out the fact that their cooking is ✔✔ with the exception of their "tomato puree stew" of course 😝.
Even though I started off with food poisoning  , I was able to get used to their wonderful delicacies. Another thing i loved was the fact that their food was very cheap and affordable too. I mean you can get a very well prepared ofada rice and sauce for as low as 600 naira. (Yes they cook it very well). You can also get a large pizza for 3500, and I'm not talking about bread with green peas and sweet corn but actual pizza. Maybe not Dominos standard but definitely edible.

I wasn't able to visit Tinapa and Obudu even though I wanted to really go there, but you can read about Sarah's Visit to Obudu Here !
I was able to go to Marina Resort a couple of times actually because they had filmhouse Cinema there. The view there is beautiful. I also visited their beach market once. Apparently, the beach is basically for transportation and nothing more.

My Squad

Working at my PPA (place of primary assignment) taught me a lot of things.
It wasn't too big but a lot was going on there. The people there were very welcoming but they just had too much office politics going on. There was tribalism,  Segregation, etc. My Colleague and I were probably the only neutral people there before he ran away and left me there😑.

My Roommate and I

I got along with everyone of them so I was alright, and anytime I decide not to come to work, they have no issues at all. I remember my first day at work, I resumed 7 am! and waited till almost 10 when the other staffs were just strolling in, I was just weak. When I was leaving, then prayed for me and my boss even gave me money.  So far so good, it was a wonderful experience.

One thing I noticed and I so much detested was the fact that most people there seemed to have issues with their pharynx and throat. You can't take one step in the morning without not finding Sputum within every short step you take. You literally have to open your eyes when you're walking if not you're on your own. Then let us take a minute to salute their drivers. Calabar drivers are the worst! Lol. They drive rubbish with confidence, they will almost hit you and they'll just be looking like you were the one that got in their way. I stand by my word when I say most of them need to be taken off the road and back to driving school.

I can't forget the times when I got looks that said "why is a 12-year old putting on Khaki?" Who am I kidding I got that look everytime 😆 I became so popular on my street which is quite normal. I made sure I enjoyed the spotlight like I always do. I remember detesting my Cds (community development service) because I was in Agro-Allied. I had blisters every other week. We were just labourers in that Cds, to think that they said they practised semi-mechanized farming. After all our sweat and blood, (yes blood) we got nothing fam, nothing. I leave the matter for Matthias God.

My Fellow Able Farmers

My initial thoughts about service year was just to do it and get out of it but getting into it, I realized I was kidding myself. Service year made me grow in every aspect of my life, I went through some really challenging and stressful moments psychologically that many people were not aware of because you just have to wear a smile, but I came out stronger. I met some amazing people, I reconnected with old friends, I embarked on a self love and self discovery journey and I'm learning to love myself even more everyday. Did I mention that I also saw my Ex😩 yeah he was also posted to calabar and he even lived close to my apartment there. I mean bygones are bygones right?

I was able to come out with two professional certificates to the glory of God, and I was highly favoured in ways I couldn't imagine. Sometimes the least thing that we expect, is what changes us totally. We only have to allow ourselves bask in that change and embrace it.

I met two bloggers during my stay in calabar; Sarah and Aidee, wonderful ladies I must add. I met Sarah in camp and we were in the same platoon, then I didn't even know she was a blogger until after. I met Aidee through TBP and the short time we spent together was quite amazing.

Sarah of Princessaudu

Aidee of Aideeamba

I feel like there's more I should write but I think I've covered most of it already. On this note, I'd have to agree with Sarah that the NYSC scheme should be revised rather than scraped completely. A lot of things could be done to improve the whole process to make it better, even the 19800 goes halfway if not all the way sometimes, I miss it. Now i just have to keep dealing with everyone asking me "So what's the next step?"

Thank you for reading till the end.

Over to You...

Have you served? What was NYSC like for you? If you have not served, what are your expectations? Was my post helpful? I would love to hear from you.

Mide♡