We are well in Akwanga. Life continues to move ahead. There are frustrations and there are joys. There are many good people and events to enjoy. There are times when I am ready to leave without warning - just to get away from life in Nigeria. Overall, it is a good experience and I will look back and say that it has been good for me to be here. But on a day-to-day evaluation, there are some days that I feel are wasted time and effort.
I have been able to do some training with one department. It has been hit-and-miss sometimes. There have been days when we have already started class and the director will call the students away for something that is more important - to him, to the college, to the team members. It isn't always clear who benefits from the interruption, but it reminds me that training is not a priority.
There are other days when I see my students right before class is scheduled to start, but by the time I make it back to the training facility they have mostly gone to get food or to do something else. So it has been rare to start on time or to have a full complement of class members.
Having said that, there are at least a couple of the students that are taking everything in. They are writing notes, they are asking questions, they are going back to their office to play with Open Office Calc - to see if what I told them works the way I said it would, or to reinforce their learning in the class session. So there is some encouragement and desire to proceed.
The picture above was taken at a festival auction. I gather that people contribute from the proceeds of their farming efforts to the church. The church then holds an auction to convert this farm produce into cash. The picture shows plantain, yams, maize, palm nuts, etc. There were also chickens, goats, maybe even a pig. And the auction was interesting as those with money paid much more for things than the actual value, because they knew they were supporting their church.One thing interesting about the event, which was hosted by a village Catholic church, was that it started about four hours after the scheduled starting time. That is not unusual in Nigeria. The main dignitary was asked to come to the high table, but he chose to sit under a mango tree with several others (including me) who enjoyed the shade more than sitting in the sun. That encouraged others to move their chairs into the shade and out of the sun. And then the bidding began - often people bid against themselves to push the prices up and to give more. It was a festive occasion.
I had the chance to visit another festival in a local village. This is the home village of my friend at the local bank here in Akwanga. This is a picture of a masquerade. You will notice that only a couple of the dancers are fully dressed. I asked about this and was told that there is an apprenticeship to become a masquerade, so many of the dancers in this troupe have bits and pieces of the full costume, and only two men are in complete regalia.
It was interesting to watch the men in costume disperse the audience by just running at them. The men who were supposed to control the crowd could not get people to stand back, and they kept crowding the dancers. The masquerade just had to move toward the people, especially the children, and everyone would run quick quick. It was interesting.
The dancing requires a lot of energy. There is a lot of stamping and body movement. It is difficult to really capture it in a photo, but a video is too large a file for me to upload at this time. And I have found that each tribe has a distinctive method of dancing. This is the Mada tribe and much of their dancing looks like a chicken flapping its wings. The other major trive in the area is the Egon whose dancing is very similar but still different enough to be distinctive.
The big news of recent note is that our Provost died on Friday (22 May 2009). He has been ill for some time with diabetes and high blood pressure. Some said that he was also suffering from malaria and that compounded the other diseases. He is a Muslim man and had apparently prepared for his Friday morning prayers before dying. I found out while I was in Abuja at a VSO workshop. When I called the Deputy Provost Adminstration to verify what had happened I was told that they were already on the way to the burial now now. So I did not attempt to hurry back that day, but did pass through his house on Sunday to offer my condolences. One thing that the Muslims bring to the north is the quick burial of a deceased person. I wouldn't say that the funeral was any faster or cheaper, as I found over 200 people at the Provost's house two days later when I passed through. And I expect that there are still a good number hanging around grieving with the family even now.
It is not known what impact this will have on the school year. We are already behind because of student riots in June 2008 that closed the campus for about 5 months. The students were in exams, but they were suspended for three days in an already tight schedule. The Deputy Provost Administration should become the new Provost, but it is likely that won't happen. First, she is a woman. Second, she has been known to support the opposing political party. The position of Provost is appointed by the governor, so supporting the opposition might be a CLM (Career Limiting Move). Hopefully an announcement will be made soon.
Eriye and I will celebrate our first anniversary on 12 June. We are possibly buying a goat to slaughter and barbecue, and will invite many from church, the college, volunteers, etc. to join us for the event. Meanwhile, we continue to wait (patiently) for Citizenship and Immigration Canada Accra to process Eriye's application for a resident visa. We hope that it will come soon, but will not know until they tell us what to do next. We hope we will not be called to Accra for an interview, which would only delay the process. But we hope that something will happen that will move things along.
Until the next time. Sai anjima!
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