WELCOME TO AUSTRALIA

          “Passport!” The lady at the desk screamed. Beautiful thud sound as the stamp hit my passport, I had waited to hear for 2years now. I was going to Australia!

          Good thing I put them all in one bag. It wasn’t difficult losing them at the airport. Nne had packed me some kpokpo garri, garden egg and groundnut to nibble on the flight. A typical Igbo woman she is. Barely educated but has the most beautiful vocals I have ever heard. “The war break the year that  I finish stanzard 6” she would say, as her excuse to why she spoke so poorly whenever I teased her of her poor English language. My dear mother. I sure was going to miss her.
          My flight via Etihad airline from Lagos left late at night that day. I was all kitted up and ready for my first winter. Luckily, I sat by the window and next to a fellow Nigerian. He obviously travelled a lot with the way he worked the small screen in front of him. I closely watched him buckle his seat belt as i followed suit. I wasn’t going to embarrass myself. The flight attendant announced that it was going to be an 8 hour flight to Abu Dhabi, where we would make a stop, so we should relax and enjoy the flight and beckon to any of the other attendants if we needed anything. This was paradise. No wonder we are in the clouds, I thought. I swore to enjoy every bit of it while it lasted. We were served a 3 course meal, snacks, water, wine, juice, anything we wanted. I ate more than i had eaten at home in the past 19 years of my life. I watched recent movies, listened to music, read magazines. We were given head phones, a sleep kit that contained a blanket and a small pillow. It was 8 hours of pure heaven. I wished Nne could enjoy all I was enjoying.

          We arrived Abu Dhabi airport at about 7am the next day. My goodness! It was beautiful. Neurons in the preoptic nucleus of anterior hypothalamus of my brain were instantly stimulated. This was not a result of my body trying to regulate my body temperature. It was my body’s reaction to what my eyes were relaying to my brain. I was in awe. I tried to remember home (Nigeria) but instantly cast the thought back to the abyss. Words can sincerely not describe how beautiful it was.
          We waited another 3 hours before boarding the next plane to Australia. It was going to be a 12 hour flight. The journey had barely started when these two Arab men seating in front of me polluted the air. I thought no other person’s gas could smell worse than mine, I was wrong. The painful part was that they kept a straight face as though nothing had happened.
          The 12 hours quickly was over. I was live at Australia. My joy in a flash of light faded when I discovered I was the only one dressed for winter. Why didn’t anybody tell me all through from Abu Dhabi that the Australia weather was different from most part of the world. It was summer! Summer in December? I spent the whole check out feeling fly that they surely had not seen a black dude as handsome as I am. Not knowing they most likely were wondering what a moron I was. I picked my luggage, took off my winter clothing and walked hastily to the exit.
           Hoping that was the last of it, I stepped outside the airport and the unthinkable happened. Cars were crashing, people were all over running, screams from all angle, people disappearing, it was a chaos.  “You have got to be kidding me!”, I exclaimed. I had always thought when such a day came, I won’t be around to witness it. How then did I miss the rapture? Confused and in shock, I looked up. Behold an helicopter was crashing into the airport, headed straight towards me. Before I could make two steps, I blacked out. Apparently, I had been hit. When I opened my eyes, I was on the not tarred floor of my room. Sweating profusely and my heart racing so fast, I could see it beat through my chest. I was terrified. Nne was kneeling beside me, praying with every strength in her. I had been dreaming. I wasn’t sure what emotion to feel at that point. Why didn’t I enjoy this country before waking up? Why did I miss the rapture? So many questions ran through my mind all at once. I dare not tell Nne what I had been dreaming about. I was just glad to be home with Nne. That was the last time I ate garri as dinner.