Image Source: Fancy Crave [Unsplash]
Introduction
Leave Your Preconceptions at The Door
People Are Very Warm and Expressive
Engage with the Culture
Introduction
Last summer I spent a month in Nigeria, West Africa for a 4-month internship. Even though I was born in Nigeria, I have lived most of my life in Canada and to be honest, adjusting to the Nigerian work culture was more of an adjustment than I expected. I went a long way from the girl who called my dad on the first day crying and asking to come back to Canada because the wifi wasn’t working and by the end of the summer, I developed close relationships with my co-workers and we still message each other on Whatsapp regularly. Overall, I had a great experience and I would encourage people to consider an internship in a foreign country. Here are some things I learnt.
Leave Your Preconceptions at The Door
Like I said even though I was born in Nigeria, I have lived most of my life in Canada and I definitely had a case of “Western Bias”. For example, looking back it sounds kind of silly but I was worried about how I would relate to my co-workers when they may not even know about the popular TV show, Power. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how advanced and vibrant the Nigerian culture is. In this day and age of the internet I’ve realized that we are truly global citizens and anything that is happening in North America, people in Nigeria are very in tune with the culture.
People Are Very Warm and Expressive
When people ask my favorite part of the experience, I immediately always say the people. Nigeria’s workplace culture is very different from Western society and people are very open when talking with each other. I noticed that the workplace was more relaxed and people were very casual when talking about things like dating or politics, things that may be more taboo in the Canadian workplace. They are also very willing to joke around and poke fun at each other. At first this took some time to get used to but this ended up creating a workplace that was filled with a lot of laughter and everyone felt comfortable around each other.
Engage with the Culture
One thing which I wish I had done was engage more with the different parts of Nigerian culture. I spent most of my time in Lagos and Victoria Island which is considered a more upscale part of Nigeria.
Many developing countries have a major city where most foreigners stay (am I considered a foreigner?). The only challenge with this is that these major cities can actually feel very similar to other major western cities like Toronto, New York or London. So while you are in a different country you may not actually get to truly experience the unique parts of a different country.
Looking back I should have tried to engage with the more unique parts of Nigeria. Perhaps I could have taken some trips to work on the Keke Napep (motorcycle) or gone on a weekend excursion into the countryside and explored Ibadan.
If you have any questions about getting an internship in Nigeria, feel free to comment below and I’ll be happy to help. If you are interested in internship or exchange opportunities in a foreign country here are some links you can check out:
My time in Nigeria was such an amazing experience and its hard to believe that I was originally very reluctant to go. I encourage any of you that are going on exchange or internships to keep an open mind and optimistic mindset, you will probably be very pleasantly surprised.