Dear Sir

I left Kenya for Canada in 2008. Pursuit of an education at a Canadian university seemed incredibly exciting. Leaving your parents home is never easy as a teenager. Leaving their home to go to an entirely new country with a completely different culture is even more terrifying.

It is now almost a decade since that day on November 24th, 2008 when I got on a plane headed here. In that time, I have grown so much as much as a man due to the experiences, good and bad, that have come along. There are certainly things I wish I could change but maybe those are the ones that have helped me become the person I am now.

With that in mind, here is a series of letters, and with technology permitting, I am going to go back in time and deliver them to 19 year old me. There will be 10 letters in total, one for every year spent in Canada. Would give me the chance to maybe explain a few things to that young man, like how tea is made in other countries for example. Or tell him in advance the loved ones that are going to pass away in his absence back home. You know, basic stuff.

So whenever that time machine becomes available at Amazon, let me know because I have some letters to deliver!

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Date: November 23rd, 2008

To: Sam Migiro

Dear Sir,

How’s it going? I know a wide range of emotions are going through your head right now. A concoction of excitement, hopeful dreams, regret, fear; all mixed together in equal measure and piped right to your brain. You are embarking on the journey of your life, figuratively and literally speaking.

You have the entire support of your family and friends, as well as your eighteen year old girlfriend. You are a gentleman of course and I know you are going to want to buy her a parting gift. Something to remember you by other than the cheap dates you struggled to afford to take her to. My suggestion? Buy her a piece of jewellery. For the love of God, make sure it is a bracelet or something like that. More on that shortly. For now though, focus on the journey of a lifetime that begins tomorrow.

The naivety of youth is a blessing. A mind devoid of life’s tough experiences, despite its owner’s obliviousness to the fact. The heart’s excitement for new beginnings perhaps overwhelms any negative thoughts that the mind accommodates. And rightly so, if life is to be enjoyed.

Before paybill numbers for ailing family members went mainstream, harambees for relatives going abroad was the main fundraising motive. Hopefully it won’t be in the near future, but right now, going to a western country is a big deal.

An entire entourage of family of friends will come to see you off at the airport. Heck, you father will hire a bus which will be full. Not just full of people, but full of mixed feelings in a group of people excited to see you advance in life, while wary of the challenges that lay ahead for you. An emotional roller-coaster on a bus, a scary ride.

Your girlfriend? She will sit next to you obviously the entire way to the airport. Here is why you should have got her a bracelet. I know way before Kim and Kanye became Kimye, you had your own cute couple name too, ‘VanSam’. How adorable. On the very day you were flying out, you were thoughtful enough to get ‘VanSam’ name engraved on a piece of jewellery for her. But you idiot! You put them on a ring. As you hand it to her, sitted side by side, not on a bended knee or anything, she will mutter:

“Are you proposing?” with unbelievable excitement and thrill that only an eighteen year old can muster.

Why the hell would she think you are proposing? Has she not seen romantic movies? This is not how a proposal works. I am not sure how you will answer...Frankly I can’t remember. I can however tell you that you don’t end up getting married. Breathe easy. You might even be disappointed to hear that, but trust me, it’s for the best. Long distance relationships hardly ever work and you will fall victim to this trend. It was all just puppy love. Dad was right. I am sorry. But keep your focus here man, you are going to a better place, right?

Unbeknownst to you, you will hug your favourite aunt for one he last time. Cherish those seconds. Hold on a just that little bit longer. Please. Cancer is a horrible thing, to put it mildly.

You will be flying British Airways to London for the initial part of your flight. Very polite and friendly flight attendants, by the way. First things first though. You of course watched Passenger 57 and Air Force One in your childhood. Granted you might have forgotten the plot a little bit on these blockbuster films. However, I can assure you that none of them had any scenes where Wesley Snipes or Harrison Ford were squirming in their seats in absolute pain because their ears hurt as the planes took off. Maybe that would have helped you prepare for what happened to you shortly after take-off.

See the reason why your ears will hurt as the plane begins ascending into the sky, is because the air pressure inside the cabin usually changes as an aeroplane gains attitude. The air pressure is lower than it is at ground level, so some air that is trapped in your inner ear needs to escape, causing your eardrums to bulge outwards. Who would’ve thought? Between your physics and biology teacher, one of them is to blame for your ignorance on this matter. Instead they chose to teach you about parts of a flower and the difference between mass and weight. Go figure.

Flight attendants are very warm and polite though, if that helps.

“Would you like a cup of tea or coffee, sir?”

“Tea, please.”

Don’t beat yourself up too bad for embarrassingly replying “Tea please” in a terrible British accent to the flight-attendant. It is a psychological syndrome that can occur unintentionally when speaking to someone with a foreign accent. What you should be annoyed with yourself for, is not being able to make your own cup of tea.

You see, in your country, when tea is served, all the ingredients are usually all mixed in together for you. Your only task is to lift the cup up to your lips, and thereafter enjoying the richness of Kenyan tea. Not in Western countries. It’s a DIY procedure. The flight attendant will give you a tea bag, some hot water, sugar in little tiny sachets. The milk, or cream(who knew?), is provided in tiny little shot-glass looking containers.

You did not know this however and instead of looking around to see how others did it, you took the milk and shot it down your throat like a shot of tequilla on a Friday night. You then proceeded to drink the rest of your tea black. Embarrassment number two and you haven’t even left Kenyan airspace yet.

Once you arrive at London Heathrow, you will come to terms with the fact that you can’t really say you have “been” to London just because you spent a few hours at the airport waiting for a connecting flight. Disappointing yes, but even you will acknowledge that the airport is designed to ensure people holding a passport such as yours do not spill into London where the actual humans are.

At least the Canadians will let you in, after all they spent months vetting your eligibility to enter their beloved country. Even having to do a thorough medical exam, lest you spread your vile African diseases to their healthy population.

Finally you will get to Canada. Once you retrieve your luggage, you will be received by your brother and a couple of his friends, all from the motherland as well. There is a certain glow, probably perceived rather than actual, that covers their faces. You will tell yourself it probably comes with living the good life and eating food from a first world country. You will be wrong.

There will be a four hour ride home in your brother’s car from the airport to your final destination. Adrenalin and excitement of being in a new country will at least keep you awake as you look around in awe like Prince Akeem in Coming to America.

“Are you hungry? Did you eat on the plane?”

“I am not that hungry...but we could stop and eat if you guys are hungry.”

“We don’t have to, it’s up to you...there is a McDonald’s a little further ahead…”

“Oh cool...yea...let’s get something to eat.”

We stopped. I wasn’t hungry. Or maybe I was. My body couldn’t really tell after being in a pressurized cabin for almost 24 hours. But McDonalds? You mean THE McDonalds? Wow. Of course.

The next week will be brutal on your body. You have always wanted to slip the phrase “this jet-lag is killing me” into regular conversation. It’s like a disease for the wealthy, jet-lag is. But it certainly won’t help your acclimatization into a new country when your body clock is all kinds of messed up.

But here you are. Eating from THE McDonald’s AND you are jet-lagged. It’s what dreams are made of...Surely it only gets better and easier?

No...No it doesn’t. You just wait till next week, you will wish you were on a plane back home. Hopefully this time you will know how to make yourself a cup of tea on a plane without embarrassing your entire country.

******

[To be continued in Letter #2]

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