Camp Day One!

Hello everyone!

To my new readers, welcome! To those of you that have come to this blog time and time again, I appreciate you!

As promised, I will be continuing my personal testimony. If you have missed the previous posts, click on the 'Destiny Steps' tab at the top of this page.

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As I walked through the gates, I was bombarded with photographers asking if I needed to take a "passport"...I later discovered that they were referring to passport photographs. I eventually discovered that I need some for registration so I pick one out of the masses. I'm sure the man was wondering if all was well with me, I couldn't smile to save my life. I glared through his lens with the ugliest frown pasted on my face as he clicked away. At the end of it all, I don't think he cared...all he needed was my money.

People were standing everywhere, talking and laughing away. I was ready to flee, if only I could run away and end up in Lagos in 2.2 seconds. I managed to proceed to the registration table with my huge bag that did not have wheels. I had food items for days, you'd think I was going to be away for 3 months. I had a big bag of garri (a Nigerian staple), cereal, a big tin of milk (powered milk) and a big tin of milo (hot chocolate). I stuck out like a sore thumb.

I approached the registration desk and was attended to by unsmiling  NYSC officials. There was no "Hello, how are you doing?" or "Welcome to camp, we hope that you'll enjoy your stay!" Who was I kidding? They proceeded to ask for my ID, call up letter, and my bachelor's degree. After transferring the documents into their hands, I got a rude awakening. "Why are you giving me a photocopy of your certificate (degree)?" Where is the original? I was puzzled, who carries around their degree? I kindly explained to them that I was an international student and my degree was in America.

All hell broke loose! They didn't like the sound of that! "How can you come to camp and not bring your original certificate?" *hisses teeth* "Please go and sit down, we can't register you." Before I could pick my jaw off the fall, they called the next person. I dragged my feet and huge bag to a sit close by. I sat there helplessly, in no time the tears began to flow. My mom called to check on me and I could not stop crying. She tried to calm me down and encouraged me to plead with them. 

They didn't bother looking my way. Another NYSC official came to me, he asked if I was okay. He saw my tear stained face. I explained to him what happened and began to cry again. He told me to stop crying, he said that I would be attended to eventually. Little that I know that he would become one of my top camp admirers...story for another day.

I was exhausted, I just wanted to relax. I eventually went to check into my "room" (more like a room that I shared with 40-something other girls) and pick out a mattress. I walked into the room that I was assigned to, all I saw was a bunch of bunk beds and different ladies settling in. I picked the first bed that I saw as soon as I walked in. Before I knew it, about 3 girls rushed towards me. They introduced themselves and asked a numbered of questions. As I answered them, I felt better. They went on to be apart of my camp "squad".

I eventually went back to the registration table, my roommates encouraged me to go and pick out my uniform and jungle boots...as they're called. In most cases, the uniform and boots wouldn't be your size. As I approached the registration table, one of the unsmiling ladies that attended to me earlier called out for me. This time around to my surprise, she actually had a smile on her face. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you." "I went to choose my bed and room ma." "Look at you! You didn't even register yet and you've picked your room."

Her smile grew larger as she accepted the documents she initially rejected. I was taken aback by her sudden change of heart. After a few minutes, I was officially registered! I got a registration number and proceeded to pick out my uniform and boots. By the time I got there, the sizes of everything available was double my size. I sighed and took what was available. Off I went to my room...every and anything that happened after that was a blur.

Day 1 DONE!

To be continued....


You're blessed!


- Bunmi


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