Your messages are a godsend, believe me. I just could not wait to get
back from church and dinner today to write and to read,but of couse
the servewr was down. Now you are at church, I suspect, and my did I
think of all of you today. Church was awesome other than the fact
that I was sweltering. It was near campus in a good-sized rectangular
building with wooden pews maybe twice the size or ours, and jalousy
(can't spell that word) windows that were all open. We were assigned
to a Bible study group when we arrived, and then at 10 the women all
went to the left side of the aisle and the men to the right side, and
the guists from America to the front row of the women's side. We were
easy to spot because we were the only women there without headwraps.
I word my LL Bean winter skirt and sneakers -- thought about sandles
as most people here wear open toed shoes with no socks -- but Linda
and I decided they would be too casual.&n! bsp; I wore Danling's china
top with the high neck and it does not breathe. I was reallyhot the
whole time we were out-- actually I am really hot all the time because
the "air conditioner" in the room sends in what ever air is outside
without discrimination. Anyway there was a processional -- can't wait
to establish that tradition in our chuuch -- and then the choir sat on
one side and the church service participants on the other. There were
four small rows of choir folks including a man on a keyboard, one on
drums and one with a tambourine -- I am eager to get those things
started in our church as well. The music was moving, good soul stuff
and the words were either in their bulletin (which is a 6-month
bulletin) or in their hymnal. They sang two hymns that are in our
hymnal! I really felt at home with the music and the praise kind of
singing and service. Amen Hallaleyah! I also felt at home because
(I don't know if Paul would appreciate this, but you can share if you
would like) of the British dialect of the speakers and the pentacostal
touch. I really did enjoy the service. The main sermon (there were
several) was very closely linked to Bible passages. There was a
special time to praise the start of the new school year and welcome
the few students who were there. They mentioned us twice. The
communion service is tonight, and you can only take communion if you
were Baptised my immersion at the age of 12. The service lasted 2and
a half hours -- DON'T TELL PAUL THAT! I think I was more connected to
the service than Linda was -- probably because I loved the music and I
am not sure she does. I was slightly swinging away at the first beat.
The women looked spectacular in their colorful dresses and headgear
-- many of the dresses had stitching on them. Just beautiful.
Matching shoes. The younger girls and boys wore modern dress.&n! bsp;
The men wore robes like the women, some with caps that matched. One
husband and wife matched-- at least in color.
The road to the church was incredible. It is only 2 blocks from
campus and on campus all of the roads are paved, but once you get off
the main road, there is not street maintenance and the roads are
incredibly pitted and full of holes -- you drive 2 MPH everywhere on
these dirt roads.. I used to make fun of Niki Daley's illusterated
picture boks because on each book and almost on each -page of each
book, he has pictures of hens and geese (He is a South African
illustrator). Well let me tell you -- chickens and goats are
everywhere loose and a few small cows as well --right in the
neighborhoods. On tiny dirt roads.
After church we went to Emeka's house for dinner. Clearly this was a
somewhat political occasion. His dean and husband, department chair
and wife and kids, and other professors, and another preacher from his
church and his kids were there. His house was very interesting, and
not unlike the housing that the University provides. Emeka explained
that the university provides housing and free health care but that
when you retire you will then not have a home, so he is building his
home now to prepare for retirement -- he has been working on it for 10
years. There are no such things as mortgages. You save up and build
gradually. Well his home looked like a fortress. There was a wall
around it and a huge metal gate that you had to buzz tobe let into.
On top of the wall were many little spikes so that no one could
getover it -- sort of like a prison. Inside the home had a large
living room like the one we saw yesterday ! with furniture around the
outside and nothing in the middle. Adark brown sofa and two matching
chairs and then hardback chairs. A television in the corner. Jalousy
windows (a lot like the house we lived in when we first came to
Florida -- or Elaine's old home. There is a lot of terrazo here in
the flooring as well). This floor, though was a sort of tile. The
walls were just plaster with some pictures hung on them. The dining
room had no floor and just rough plaster and the kitchen had a sort of
concrete looking floor and was small. It looked like it was his
daughters who prepared the mean. It was a serve yourself affair with
two kinds of rice (rice comes with every meal and I am eating a lot of
it because you have to boil it to cook it so it should be safe. Then
there werefour meats -- well fish that was in batter and fried with
bones in it, turkey, something that looked like I don'tknow-- hard but
like liver, and one other. I tried the fish because then I could pick
at it for a long time and look like I was eating -- and plankton.
There was mango for dessert and I forgot I am supposed to be allergic
to it so I ate two bites before the knowledge appeared on my radar. I
don't think I am that allergic to it actually. Anyway at dinner we
each stood and introduced ourselves, kids too, and I was glad I as at
the end because I could then thank them for having us and tell them
how delighted we were to learn from them and hopefully be helpful. It
was kinda awkward but maybe that is just the way itis. I tried to
engage the kids in conversation with a little help and one elder lady
has five grandchildren and she asked about books. I told her I would
leave some for her. There are NO books in any of the Nigerian public
schools. Can you imimagine that?
After dinner we were all transported (each car drove) a short way to a
Books without Borders building. This is incredible. This lady from
New Zealand visited and found no books here so she got all the kids
across New Zealand -- classes of kids, to donate books to Nigeria and
there are four rooms full of boxes of books. Emeka was showing this
off. He wanted to give the books to8 schools, one in each school
district, but the federal government wants him to send them to 24
schools -- so he is cataloguing all the books and deciding who gets
what and doing a followup on their effectiveness. I wish we could get
a version of that in the USA -- but the problem with such programs is
that the books tend to be not the best and that certainly was the case
here. The three kids who were with us devoured the books as we looked
around.
Then we came back here and I tried to race into the internet cafe
where it is cool to write but the server was down, so I asked for some
toilet paper (they arenot delivering any -- and the woman said that we
have not paid our bill -- that only the first night was paid for. I
explained to her that we were staying for another week and that the
man who was paying would be here to pick us up at 10 tomorrow and I
would have him speak to her and could I please have some toilet paper.
I mean now that I am in a room with a toilet that flushes I can
actually wipe -- imagine that! This whole thing is one screwup after
another -- but still just for things like today it will be very much
worth it. Linda brought her camera and we got some pictures (I
thought it might be impolite to be snapping pictures but Emeko said it
was fine -- and Inoticed that he showed us pictures (all posed) of
some of his work and such. Of course my pictures are more like! ly to
be of the impossibly bad streets and hens and goats -- and kids
reading. One of the mothers told me that her daughter (at dinner)
said that I looked like a "real American." Linda with darker skin
color did not qualify, I think. I laughed.
To sum it up -- it is hot as hell and this conference center is the
pits, but other than that -- getting out is wonderful. I never
expected a university city with no paved roads excepton campus. I
never thought there would be so much traditional dress and baskets on
heads and things I am intrigued with. I also thought it would be
easier to understand the language -- I don't know how we are going to
be able to teach kids -- as the British spoken here is a really thick
dialect with a lot of different terms for things. We shall see. I
also did not expect to be in a sort of unsafe situation as much. By
the way thebook boxes came in shreds because immigration thought they
contained concaine. I have been walking with Linda but I don't think
she wants to walk this evening, so I can't -- it just would not be
safe. That is comething I am really not used to. I am waring mjy
shorts around here and a t-shirt -- haven't seen anyone els! e in
shorts anywhere, but I also have not seen a white person since I hit
Africa so I am already different and shorts are a comfort -- a big
comfort in this small conference center. Yesterday and today there
were religious groups here -- all dressed to the hilt -- one went from
4 to midnight but they were still making noise at 1:30 AM.
Please keep my letters so I don't need to handwrite them.
I think of you guys all the time -- and of Bev and well everyone. I
do miss you a lot. I am counting down the days -- Ileave in a week.
But once I hit the schools I will probably feel differently.
-- there are absolutely no postcards that I can find anywhere so I
guess these e-mails are my postcards to people. I may walk to campus
tomorrow morning since we don't leave till 10 (Emeka has to teach a
class) and see if the campus bookstore has anything of interest. It
should be safe in the morning with all the students around.
The contrast because those who are gracious and kind and welcoming and
those who are not, is so striking -- the people at this conference
center really are not happy campuers. The folks who are professors
and students and church goers seem very friendly. I try to take a
back seat to Linda. I think she may be a bit uncomfortable especially
today because her husband is head of education and these folks all
know him (and some knew her). She says things like, "even though
Ihave been here before, I am eager to see the schools and work with
your teachers." I really don't think many of these people have any
contact with the real folk at all except as servants. Very class
divided society as far as I can see.
OK -- myhour is about up
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