Month: October 2023

The Impractical Immigrant Guide to Life in the UK: Surviving Winter

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So you are about to experience your first winter or you already are in the thick of it. How do you keep it together as temperatures drop and wind gales blast?

In Copenhagen, Denmark

Surviving your first winter is usually quite a dramatic and memorable experience. If you’ve grown up in a country where winters aren’t a thing it truly is an adventure orienting yourself to life in chilly conditions. Contrary to what you may think, the UK is relatively cool compared to other European countries – basically, it could be worse. Temperatures in Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Iceland really do plummet way below zero degrees. In the UK , particularly England, sub-zero days are few while sub-zero nights are more common but then you’re likely in bed then, plus it rarely ever gets to sub-zero double digits. This is an encouraging start to the tips to follow, hopefully.

The right attire during the winter months is an essential. If you are a new immigrant, I suspect you already have at least one jacket which took you through autumn. Most likely the jacket was too warm for autumn but as your skin isn’t yet used to the cold, autumn must have felt as cold as Antarctica.

In England, it rains – a lot. The combination of cold, rain and wind really demands that you be methodical about how you dress. You will find yourself giving more thought to what you wear and pack before you step out the door than you likely did back home , in terms of ensuring you survive and don’t die of frostbite. To recap, you need a good warm jacket (preferably with a hood), not much more will be said about that as this is an impractical guide afterwards. What needs to be said though is that you need more than a warm jacket.

You need a scarf; of the right length. I find scarves that are too long more of an unwieldy burden than they are worth. Also, personally, when a scarf is too bulky and begins to feel like a blanket, one begins to slide into the territory of discomfort in my opinion. For one, temperatures fluctuate as you change locations during the day. For instance, you step out from the cold into the underground station in London where it is likely warmer if it is an indoor station. You are now saddled with having to lug what is essentially a blanket around because it has become too warm for you to leave it wound around your neck. A smaller scarf will easily fit into your bag and still keep you warm when it is around your neck. That is a perfect scarf in my opinion.

Edinburgh, Scotland. Wearing a blanket scarf

Next, you need gloves. My biggest wardrobe regrets in the winter often involve gloves. Either one of the pair gets lost (or both) or I forget to bring them along with me or I buy a pair that is not warm enough. Cold hands are terribly inconvenient and painful as once your fingers get numb, your hands become useless. Even trying to find your bus pass becomes a task as your fingers just won’t work leading to bus drivers becoming utterly irritated by your ineptitude. In short, get a warm pair of gloves and keep them safe.

Things begin to get really complex when it comes to hats. Wearing a hat really makes a difference in maintaining warmth but I personally feel one can do without it except you are bald, have really short hair or have not very voluminous hair which means the cold can access your scalp easier. I have puffy Afro hair which means I often do not find a hat big enough to squeeze my head and hair into and if I do, it ruins my hair style for the day. Voluminous Afro hair also serves as a hat itself, keeping me warm as even I hardly ever see my own scalp thus the cold has little chance of getting to it. Assess your hair condition (volume) and if it’s not suitable to provide cold protection, get a hat.

Earmuffs are another possibility. Again, I think England is hardly ever cold enough to warrant one. As you may be noticing, I do have a relatively good tolerance for cold. I have seen people wear everything I have mentioned so far all in one go. I would burn up in the cold if I ever did that. Additionally, a good, snug hat that you can pull over your ears could negate the need for earmuffs (which really become an extra winter burden to drag around and fiddle with).

Me in a hat. And my Afro served as free earmuffs

Snow! If you’re lucky, you’ll get some snow. This is really something if you’ve never experienced snow before. It all begins to feel less like luck and more like a curse though when the snow begins to melt. When snow is fresh and settles, however, it’s truly beautiful. I’ll never forget my first snowy experience; my nose was squashed against the window of my room as I watched the snow flakes tumble to the ground. Once the snow had stopped, I layered up and ran outside to make a snow angel. It was epic!

Walking in snow when it’s fresh is manageable and beautiful. Once the snow begins to melt and sheaths of ice begin to appear on the tarmac, you need to be very very careful when you walk and drive as you could easily slide into oblivion. Good, waterproof shoes with a firm grip are essential for snowy days, get one! Another thing, you know those metal slabs often covering a hole in the pavement? They are extra dangerous when it’s cold and icy as they become mini-ice rinks. Avoid walking over them at all costs. Avoid walking over anything shiny when it’s cold.

After all has been said and done, if the worst happens and you do fall, which has happened to me at least once, hopefully it’s not a dangerous fall and you are able to get up and move on. Don’t worry too much about it, falling in icy conditions is nothing to be embarrassed about. Reduce your likelihood of falling with good shoes and calculated.

As the days become shorter and the nights longer it can be very tempting to lock yourself indoors where it’s warm. I would advice to try get out as much as you can. Make friends, build or become part of a community, go to a Christmas market or a museum, go to a bon fire night. As they say, there is no bad weather, just bad clothing. So long as you dress appropriately at all times and keep warm drinks close, you can enjoy life outside in the winter.

Going snow running

The Impractical Immigrant Guide to Life in the UK: Ethics of Public Transportation

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This is one you need to get to grips with quickly especially if you don’t own a car. Danfo buses are very prevalent in Lagos, Nigeria and are the main source of transportation for millions of people daily. The modus operandi with these particular types of buses in Lagos is really ‘first come first serve’ in the realest form. No queuing, just standing alert waiting for a bus going your direction with a free seat. There are really no bus timetables to work with, buses come when they come. Once the bus arrives you hop on as quickly as you can and with the most agility you can muster. It doesn’t matter if you were the last person to get to the bus stop; and so in an egalitarian sense you should be the last to get on the bus. No, you just need to be fast. The last becomes the first – if fast. Once aboard said Danfo, anything really should be expected. Silence is a rare possibility. What is more likely is boisterous, sporadic conversation. Sometimes that conversationality features in the form of arguments but nonetheless, conversation with strangers is very normal and unsurprising in these jam packed buses. Personal space isn’t a thing. All you need is a seat and just about enough oxygen . One has hardly lived the Lagos life until they’ve experienced the drama of Danfo buses.

My nephew and I minding our business on the London Underground

Danfo buses provide a transient platform for discussion on ethics, morality and incredulity. As Lagos is such a buzz, with a trillion things happening all at once and all around, discussion topics are never scarce. There’s always someone somewhere doing or saying something weird which sparks commentary from Danfo passengers. Alternatively, there could be an argument between the bus conductor and a passenger which warrants other passengers to intervene. Danfo buses are not ideal for quietly reading a book on your daily commute. They are more suited for engaging in fiery conversations or altercations, which means you arrive at work fully awake and energised. Again, these conversations, which everyone is usually welcome to join in, make you a part of something, your voice matters.

A Danfo

Now, transportation in the UK almost has no similarity to voyaging in Lagos beyond the fact that you are conveyed from one place to the other. Everything from the speed, comfort and vibe with which you get to your destination is different.

As a new immigrant one of the first things you should figure out is to identify when you need to queue. British people take this seriously. I was once told off by a granny in my early days in the UK for jumping a queue unknowingly. If you see people huddled around a bus stop or even on the underground platform (though very rare) in something that looks even vaguely like a line, make sure to confirm whether or not it is a queue before hustling to the closest possible spot that gives you quick access to vehicle entry like I usually do. For someone used to using speed and wits to get on public transport back home, having to humbly queue is annoying and underwhelming but it is what it is.

If you live in London and you are on the underground, as a newbie London commuter, you are advised to either take a seat or have a firm grip on something. Do not compare yourself to those people who seem to be able to keep their stamina while free standing and holding on to nothing. They are at the pro level of underground commuter travel. Except you have previous experience travelling on underground trains in some other part of the world , you are a novice. If you do not hold on to something steady, you will be caught off guard when the train suddenly jerks, and jerk it will. If you are lucky you will only stagger dangerously, if you are not so lucky you will barge into someone else or outright fall to the floor. And if you read my previous post on how the English respond to minor mishaps, you will know once you do fall you are very likely to be respectfully ignored except you obviously hurt yourself or someone else. So until you master the craft of free standing on the London underground, seat down or hold something. Be humble.

Alighting a train in Italy. People seem to mind their business on Italian trains too (surprisingly)

There is more to say about tube transportation in London. Eye contact with fellow passengers is considered awkward, so look everywhere but directly into the eyes of your fellow passengers. Secondly, and this is the case for buses too – do not start a random conversation with your fellow commuters. I repeat, do not start a random conversation. At best you’ll get someone who doesn’t think you’re are a nutter (cray cray) give a one word response, nod or awkward smile. It’s just not the thing. Public transportation in the UK is not where to seek out vibrant conversation. Is it absolutely impossible, of course not. Is it as prevalent as is the case back home in Nigeria, absolutely not. The motto is, seat down and mind your business.

There is one thing that may, however, spark the spirits of a Lagos commuter turned London commuter. Running for buses and trains is still a thing especially if you lack patience and don’t want to wait for the next one or according to the time table, if you miss this one you’d be waiting a long time. This is your opportunity to revive the vigour of public transport entry you may have missed. Run! Put your now latent hustling skills to use and run!

A voyage across the English Cotswold