Student from Nigeria speaks 4 languages, misses his friends

This archived article was written by: Mae Goss

When most people begin college, the transfer isn’t too far away. But for Julius Adebayo, a Nigerian student at the College of Eastern Utah, home is anything but close.
Coming from Nigeria was quite a change for him. Things are very different from in the states; for example, in Nigeria, there are lots of rich people and there are lots of poor people. Not many are in the middle, Adebayo said.
In Nigeria there are several languages spoken, about 43, says Adebayo. He admits that he can speak four languages and understand another. English being first, but the English in Nigeria is a sort of pigeon English and another called Yoruba, the language from the south-western part of Nigeria; then there’s French and Igbo, pronounced ee-bo, both of which he learned in high school. The last he doesn’t actually speak, but he understands, is Hausa, pronounced how-sa.
Moving to the United States wasn’t his idea. He and his parents moved for three years to Florida where he finished his last two years of high school. He moved to Utah for college. When asked what he misses the most he said he misses his friends.
One might ask, “Why CEU?” When questioned about it, he said it was a simple answer: it was cheap. But how does one discover CEU from Florida? He said he, “Went on the Internet and looked up ‘cheap schools,'” and there he found CEU.
He applied, was accepted, and received a scholarship. Adebayo is studying engineering but would like to go in to law. He was admitted to Cornell but it is way too expensive, says Adebayo.
Adebayo admitted to being a youtube.com fan. He also enjoys playing soccer and is a member of the soccer club. He loves the mountains in Utah and hopes to be able to ski this winter.
The roommates that one has can have quite the effect on the experiences a student could have. Adebayo says his roommates are good people and that he is, “in pretty good company.”