Not all Nigerians fit the stereotype

I visited the Nigerian High Commission in Dar es Salaam today to get a letter of introduction for the Tanzanian authorities for work. Going by stories I had heard of how bad Nigerian Embassy/HC staff could be, I went there with no expectations. 

At the front desk someone was chatting so loudly across with a guard in Swahili, so they were both obviously Tanzanian. When a Nigerian staff came to attend to me in the waiting area which was in the same room/hall, I could barely hear him as these people were yelling. I looked up in shock wondering whether I was in a market place or an office. I told him I could not hear him and looked towards the front desk as if to say, ask him to keep his voice down but he made light of the situation by saying he is like a Nigerian now. I know we could be loud but in an office, this was not acceptable. And for someone who was sent from Nigeria to represent his country in another country to accept this, it shocked me a bit. I wondered if that was what he was taught from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!

Burnout

For most working class people today, this is a word that has become normal.

I could define burnout as a build up of fatigue that causes one to become emotionally, mentally and physically drained. A common cause of this is stress. 

There is a difference between stress and burnout by the way. 

Stress is defined by dictionary.com as physical, mental, emotion strain or tension. It also defines burnout as frustration or apathy resulting from prolonged stress, overwork or intense activity. 

These days, stress seems to be part of our everyday lives. How we manage stress and eventually burnout matters to our well being.

Sisterhood and life lessons

I was up late last night reflecting and would like to share experiences of the two ladies in my life I cannot do without. Their experiences have taught me some life lessons which might be relevant to you too.

One of my sisters was put in a corner last year where she had the option of resigning or asking in the 'nicest possible way' to be retained. This was a job that drained the life out of her. She hardly had a life outside work as she worked crazy hours. There was generally no job security as she worked under someone who was quite impulsive. As an outsider, this was my observation.

Calling her out

Two of us were sharing our frustrations about a certain woman who seems to take pleasure in making life difficult for the people she works with. He mentioned how she appears versus the reality and I summed it up. Oh, she is a b***h! He said hmmmm, I was trying to say it in a nicer way, then I said there is no need for that. I didn't think much of it then as we changed the subject and talked about many other things.

A few minutes later, I reflected on what I said earlier and wondered when I started speaking that way. I said such a derogatory word with such ease. I asked myself if this had come with practice because I didn't even realise. Not so long ago, it would have taken a lot to hear such words from me. I made such efforts to keep my 'mouth clean'!