School Visit Yola and Misc.

Today things are really starting to ramp up for the semester. Monday classes start and today was registration and community service day. A lot has happened the past few days... students are pouring in and the campus is coming alive, syllabi are being made, remade, and remade again. Many of the processes and logistics of getting things done here are difficult, but hopefully when can change some things to bring about some improvements. We are still getting used to "African Time" and need to remind ourselves of how things work in Africa as we are still in an American paced mindset. I believe things will begin snapping into line once the semester is fully underway.

The most exciting thing (bar one thing we will share later) was doing community service at a local school. The new president of the university is really pushing community service and is getting the AUN community out to the surrounding community. Jess, Emma, Addie and I were assigned to a group going to a school where we were to put up some now football (soccer) goals and a volleyball net. The school was quite near to campus, but is socially and economically worlds away.

Upon arriving at the school (The fam plus about twenty staff and students) there was not much to see. A small two (maybe three room) school (or shell of a school) and a football field with two makeshift goals on either end of a dusty pitch. The students began quickly removing the old goals and installing the new ones. As we meandered around trying to find something to help with we were suddenly surrounded by about fifty (I'm terrible at estimating, probably more) young students aged around 4 to 7 years old dressed in their kelly green uniforms. We were actually taken aback quite abit, but at least we had something to do now. Emma and Addie were overwhelmed and understandably so. The young students were enamored by Emma and Addie and circled around them. Probably the most disturbing thing to the girls was that they could not understand the children as they were speaking either Fulfulde or Hausa (I hope hausa as that is what I was trying to get translated to them) and the school children laughed a lot and Emma and Addie thought it was directed at them. After a few moments the girls were still overwhelmed, but began to deal a little better as long as mommy and daddy were nearby. Anywho, we sang a song to the kids (head, shoulders, knees and toes), which we tried to translate into their language, among many giggles, and they sang us a Nigerian National song (not sure which) and a Hausa song. We tried to play simon says, but due to translation difficulty we played duck, duck, goose (I had the translator help me so the game became agwagwa, agwagwa, bite', or duck, duck, monkey). It was a ton of fun. We also played some volleyball and football. All in all, a terrific experience and one that we have been discussing with the girls as they try to understand being a stranger in a strange land.

On another note, I have made an aquaculture contact and we'll see where it goes. We bought a fish yesterday (see pic). If you can name it (english or latin) you win a prize, for some reason here they call it elephant fish, though there is another fish that goes by that name. Those of you in Uganda or with experience in Lake Victoria ought to know this one. I am excited about seeing what is going on in the world of fish farming 'round here.

Another aside (because I like this type of info) here is a grocery list with prices in Naira (150 Naira to the $). Keep in mind that these are batturi (european) prices.

Tomatoes (2#) 300 Naira

Eggs (2 dozen) 750 N

Bread (sliced loaf) 200 N

Beer (~20 oz.) 150 N (250 at the club)

Meat (2.2#) 1000 N

Fish (13#) 10000 N

Potatoes (5#) 500 N

Onions (3 med.) 100 N

Watermelon 300 N

Coffee (250 g) 900 N

Peanut Butter 500 N

Well, we are headed to start cooking up some of that mystery fish. Sending love to all from Yola,

The Traveling Pines