COVID YEAR 2020: HOW IT STARTED
The journey from Nigeria to Barcelona started for Ayo, but it started off as a joke and fantasy. I was scrolling through TikTok and saw videos of Hispanics. In some videos of the videos, they were speaking Spanish and I immediately fell in love with the language. My first instinct was to watch La Casa del Papel: MONEY HEIST (because I’ve been hearing of the series but didn’t bother and then I found a reason to bother). Before then, I’ve heard Spanish spoken in a romantic way and as a lover girl, I’m always blown away. I mean SPANISH IS THE LANGUAGE OF AND FOR LOVE.
After a couple of days, I went onto register for DUOLINGO which was recommended by a friend after I indicated my interest in the language. I continued my journey by downloading songs in Spanish and searching for Hispanics musicians, learnt the lyrics (I still know them till date). I even taught one of my sisters the song because why not if not. You’re around me, you gotta know Spanish -one way or another. I started learning the language via Duolingo with so much enthusiasm, even paid for the yearly premium but after a while, the learning drive reduced a bit because I couldn’t keep up with the streaks. The reduction in my learning drive didn’t affect my quest for visiting the country. I subconsciously practiced what I had learnt via Duolingo whilst I spoke in English. :
HOW IT WENT
Two years later…..
On January 23, 2022, I woke up and impulsively decided to research the top 10 schools in Business Analytics. There, I found ESADE BUSINESS SCHOOL as part of the list. I didn’t think twice before applying to the school. Why? Because it is in Spain. I said to myself -Viola! Here comes the way to Spain.
*the mistake I made was not planning but moving on vibes*
When I got the admission letter, that was when I told my parents about the school, and it dawned on me that “Oh! There’s tuition and other expenses (Such a clown that I am and can be) that’ll be incurred.
I immediately started looking for funds, sent couple of cold mails to various people (musicians, footballers) I mean what’s the worst that can happen-not get a response.
This is the result of failing to plan.
Anyways, I didn’t get any response from anybody. Few days later, my parents and I were able to raise part of the acceptance fee and paid. At least to secure the admission. A couple of days later, I got scholarship but both the scholarship amount and what I paid wasn’t up to 30% of the fees.
Whilst still figuring how to make the payment, I applied for visa (in faith that I’ll go because WHAT GOD CANNOT DO DOESN’T EXIST). I eventually got the visa but still fees were incomplete.
Around June 2022, it became clear that neither I nor my parents could afford to complete the tuition. I tried other fund-raising methods like Loan etc. but none were forthcoming. I was bothered and stressed (coupled with other things going on in life). I wasn’t living but was just whiling away time.
the light behind the tunnel…..
In July 2022, I finally gave in and intentionally decided to LIVE. That decision was the best decision of my life because A LOT HAPPENED FOR BETTER in every area of my life.
For starters, I submitted my application to defer my attendance. This was hard for me to do because before then, I had created a group chat on WhatsApp for my incoming course mates, we had done introduction and couple of calls to be familiar with each other.
So, because I deferred, I had to leave the group and look for who was going to be the admin of the group which I found. After leaving, some people reached out to confirm what the issues was. I gave a response and slowly became comfortable with my reality.
“That was the end of the Spain dream” – I thought.
Then one of my family members advised me to travel with the visa instead. If not for anything, at least for the experience.
Honestly, I’m glad I listened because that travel changed my life completely and I was grateful I went.
I LOVED SPAIN WHILST IT WAS STILL A FANTASY TO ME, LOVE IT THE VERY FIRST TIME I STEPPED ON THE CITY AND WILL CONTINUE TO LOVE IT EVEN AFTER I LEAVE.
NIGERIA TO BARCELONA: MAKING LEMONADES OUT OF LEMONS
September 11, 2023[…] Sequel to From Nigeria to Barcelona : THE BEGINNING […]