Sharing U.S. experience in So Far Away Yet So Close

The book, Prairie Stories: So Far Away Yet So Close, a memoir of foreign studies and visits, is authored by a priest, Akodu Peter Kehinde, with contributions from three others. It was first published in 2013. The book is in three parts. The first two parts contain the experiences of the author studying in the United States of America, while the third part of the book is about the contributions from three of the author’s classmates: John Lock, Neha Mehra, and Alex Iniguez. In all, there are 31 chapters. The first part is, however, the real experience-sharing section of the book, as the other two chapters are stories written as students of communication by the author and his classmates. Though part two and three provide some insight, they are not personalised experiences.

The book, no doubt, is a good one, considering many Nigerians, young and old, daily crave to travel to the U.S. for business, tourism, stay and employment. Therefore, the book provides insight for many who want to travel to the famed God’s own country. It will help shape their expectations, especially as many Nigerians believe America is another heaven on earth, where everything works effortlessly.

No wonder, the author, in his introduction to the book, said: “The problem that this work addresses is not the fact that Nigeria fails to provide the good life, but that the good life many Nigerians seek going outside eludes them in the long term. The experience shared in the book, therefore, is awash with difficulties students and visitors pass through in a foreign land.”

Many who travel to the U.S. usually paint pictures of a society in near-perfection. They are quick to say this cannot happen in the U.S., when they are back home, especially when they encounter any maladministration at home. They do not usually talk about the minuses in that society. Even when they talk about them, they narrate the stories with some form of mildness. Nonetheless, in narrating his challenges navigating through the country, some salient points about a system that works also come to the fore. And Fr. Peter Adeyemi captures it vividly in his comment about the book when he says the author provides an honest account of America’s superb hospitality and sad hostility towards migrants.

The author does not just highlight his challenges adapting into the U.S. system, he gives advice on how to navigate through the difficulties. For students, who are going for studies, the author also provides some insight that would make their effort outstanding. According to him, peer review is very important in pursuit of excellence. He also suggests keeping the right association to remain focused in the line of work, aside running away from trouble while there.

Some of the experiences the author provides are what any Nigerian travelling to any foreign land can use to navigate such society. Therefore, the information in the book though is about the U.S., can be useful to anyone wish to be assimilated into any country outside Nigeria.