E87: Dikachi Chizim thinks finding community can speed up integration

Hello, I'd really like to grow this email list. If you enjoy this newsletter, it would mean the world to Jola and I if you encouraged one friend/fellow immigrant/colleague to subscribe…Very likely, the the only thing you will get in return is warm fuzzy feelings, and if I can attribute it to you, I’d personally send you a thank you email.

Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.

In this episode, I'm speaking to Dikachi Chizim, who moved from Lagos, Nigeria, to Freiberg, Germany, for an MBA.

Germany isn't the typical destination for skilled Nigerian immigrants, especially in the past five years. According to Dikachi, even the Germans she met in Freiberg, a town of over 40,000 in Eastern Germany, were surprised she moved to their town to study. “Well, I came to study because tuition was free,” she says.

But the culture shock was dramatic. Now, this isn't surprising if you've been to both or any of the two cities. Lagos and Freiberg are different in every measurable way. From population to density to the economy to the urban character to the language.

“I was lost,” Dikachi says. Getting a student job became the unlikely path to understanding the language and how the country worked.

In this conversation, Dikachi and I chat about dealing with the contrast between Nigerian "African time" and famed German punctuality. We also explore:

* How her workplace became more valuable for integration than her international student community

* Passing her Nigerian cultural heritage to her German-born daughter

* The surprising differences between Eastern and Southern Germany's social climate

* Why optimism might be an immigrant's most valuable asset

Official Links

✅ Follow Dikachi on LinkedIn

✅ Sign up for Dikachi’s Thinking Out Loud newsletter

One Ask

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