Ground Please Open Up; Embarrassing moments

Seriously embarrassing moments have a way of sticking with us long after they must have occurred; they serve as both humbling reminders and sources of amusement. The thought of them sometimes brings smiles to our faces.

I have had embarrassing moments. Among the countless blunders or mistakes life has thrown my way, there are a few unforgettable ones that never fail to elicit a cringe or a chuckle whenever I remember them.

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This particular one happened during my NYSC days. I was posted to Jalingo, Taraba State, so while in camp, I happened to make friends with this guy who had a barbing saloon and also charges phones in the Mami Market since I also needed a safe place to charge my phone.

A lot of people who were posted to that state during my stream didn't understand Hausa language; they either studied or were from the eastern, southern, or western parts of the country. And since I am very fluent in Hausa, making friends with those in Mami Market who understood Hausa wasn't difficult.

One of those days after the morning parade, I went to this new friend's place to charge my phone, and we were gisting and laughing when a guy walked into the shop to have a hair cut. Seriously, I didn't even raise my head or look at the person who walked in. Then, after some time, my new friend (let me call him Henry) said to me in Hausa language that since this guy walked into the shop, he has been staring at me, and he thinks the guy might like me.

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It was at that moment that I raised my head to see who he was talking about, and I laughed and responded in Hausa language that the guy was not my type, Jare.

But after a few days again, while I was at Henry's shop, this same guy also came to charge his phone, and as usual, I wasn't paying attention, and I didn't even remember him until Henry said this guy is staring at me and that he is the same guy from the other day, and he's very sure the guy likes me and might even ask me out.

Hei God, I gave out a very loud, sarcastic laugh and started sizing up the guy in Hausa. I said a lot of nasty things that day, from his height to his appearance and how he looked in his white shirt and shorts. And Henry was not helping matters; he was also adding fire to the whole situation, and this guy didn't blink or move, so we taught that we were having a good time talking in an unknown language that was not understood by him.

After our talk, this guy stood and said, Thank you for all you said in Hausa. His Hausa was very clear and clean. I and Henry just looked at ourselves, froze, and couldn't say anything. At that moment, I just wished the ground would open and swallow me up. Ahh! I was so embarrassed.

Seriously, I didn't know what came over me that day. I am usually not someone who badmouths or insults people.

On the same day, later in the evening, I saw the guy at the NCCF evening service, approached him, and apologized; he was just laughing at me and saying he wasn't angry one bit and that it was difficult for him to hold himself and pretend like he didn't understand what we were saying.

And that is how we became close friends while we were at camp, and after camp, I even got to meet some of his family friends. Though he is late now. Life😊

THANK YOU FOR READING TO THE END 🤗