This looks cute

Never in my wildest dreams have I imagined being an XXL/XXXL.

I left home with just two suitcases, side note I should have listened to my aunt when she said I should pack only a few items.

There I was with a brand new suitcase straight from the streets of Jozi and flip it was too expensive for my liking. The packing overwhelmed me; I didn’t know what to pack. I’ve never left home for a year so angazi what do people need for their one year journey. Anyway, not everything could fit in this humongous bag. Gogo borrowed me one of her suitcases, she has a billion suitcases, and I packed the rest of my things there. Emirates was so generous by granting me 50kg luggage, hell yeah! I’m packing alles. My aunt advised me not to pack many things because I’ll most definitely buy new clothes when I get to China. The anxiety of the first-time mover, I’ve never left home before; therefore, I wasn’t about to risk being a nudist in a foreign country. Besides, I didn’t have much in my pockets so I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford new clothes for at least 6 months. I had a few new cute professional outfits I wasn’t about to leave those behind. First time in my entire work life, I had to wear formal. I always laugh at myself when I look at my formal clothes, nope; God knows I wasn’t born for formal, least comfortable outfits.

Why did I pack this

I packed alles, from the torn jeans to that crop tops, bucket hat, beanie, hoodies, oh I wasn’t about to leave my sweatpants. I packed even things I knew I’d barely wear, swimsuits, bikinis look I packed alles. Shoes, I had two new pairs, which I later realised weren’t worth it, were in my suitcase. These suitcases were freaken heavy, I had to leave a few things at the airport, and thanks to love, he gave me his bag. Oh, I’m always reminded of his precious UNISA bag.

Luggage saga- when I got to Shanghai, both my suitcases had broken wheels and to add salt to the wound one was open. Didn’t I freak out (lol), I saw myself being detained for drugs that weren’t mine. I prayed in tongues as I was passing through customs, ngizothini? I was so confused it only hit me days later that I should have reported this and the airline should have paid me.

Unpacking, this is going to be fun.

“Most of the things in these bags I do not need them, but well they’re mine, and they’re cute.” When I got to work, I found out that we have a uniform, flip! That email was all lies, formal wear, mxm. Now I have outfits that won’t make sense wearing them to the mall or to hang out with friends. Now I had to buy a few pants for work. Lord, why am I stubborn?

After my first paycheque, I went to the mall to look for something, a pair of jeans to wear or something. I had a few clothes that could work for this new environment, but 5-6 days of work each week I’ll need more outfits. I hate doing my laundry; I’m one of those people who do laundry once a month. Yes, I’ve got a lot of clothes and a few favourite outfits. Therefore buying a pair of jeans or something cute to match my work t-shirt was the order of the day. I went to the mall, I know I’m a perfect 34/L; I’ve got curves for days so this is an ideal size. There I was looking for the perfect pants; I found one at Forever 21. One of my colleagues told me that Forever 21 is one of the shops that cater to our voluptuous African bodies. I took the pants, and at the glance of it, I knew that this wasn’t my size. That L so small it made no sense. Aren’t all clothes “made in China?” These labels are deceiving us. I picked up the XXL and XXXL. Lord, you must be a comedian. Therefore, this is my size, okay.

This didn’t sit well with me; I had to go to a few other shops until I accepted that I’m obese. Now comes the online shopping.

Online shopping is the norm that’s where you get good deals. The ridiculously high priced top you saw at the mall, well you could get that very cheap plus a skirt or two to match it. Measuring tape, scale I had to buy those. I had to measure every inch of my body.

Shopping time, I looked for my usual size then took a look at measurements, that’s when I knew I should stop fooling myself. I’m no longer an L, these curves have taken up space, and I’m now an XXL/XXXL. Most of us who have relocated here have gone up two or more sizes up. I don’t remember myself ever buying an L t-shirt, my shirt size from now on is L-XL. I’ve bought a stunning jacket an XXL because of the measurements, and it turned out to be a blanket as dear love would say. I’ve had so many outfits fails that by the end of the year I had a lot of useless clothes piling up in my wardrobe, plus those cute formal wear I had from home.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m an XXL-XXXL, and I’m not okay. What happened to “Made in China”?