A day with Koyinsola...

Many of you are pondering "who the heck is Koyinsola and what does this have to do with Rachel?" Well since I have moved to Nigeria my friend and boss Juyin decided that I was already such a Nigerian in so many ways that I needed a Nigerian name. Just like many Nigerians use English names for us white folk who can't pronounce their names, I too am adopting that idea, except for everyone here CAN easily say my name. Nigerian names are quite unique and a lot of them are very lovely. Many even have names that represent the day they were born or if they are a twin etc. I went through many names, but I was the one who came up with Koyinsola...the way it is said is so lovely. First it was Rashida (my crazy friend Taiye decided this one...but no one liked it) then it was Bumi...but then I heard the name Koyinsola and that was it. So now that I am officially a temporary resident of Nigeria (yes I have the paperwork to prove it!) I am living a daily Nigerian life with of course my Western influences that I just can't shake. So here it is...a typical day.

In the morning I wake up at around 6am. If I wake up and I feel hot, it is because NEPA took light sometime during the night and I don't like to put my generator on throughout the night (here is my cheap dutch side coming out...I would rather be a little more hot than to waste my diesel!) Ok...so lets say there IS NEPA...because usually there is until right before I leave for work. I go to my shower and begin to fill a large bucket (which looks more like a giant bowl) with a mixture of hot and cold water (I am lucky to have a water heater...because no matter how hot you feel, taking a cold shower in the morning is alarming and an easy way to fall sick!) I do have a shower head, but since the water pressure is very low, it just makes sense to take a bucket bath/shower. It also save water! 

After my shower I get ready. If there is no light, I am already wet with sweat and it seems impossible to put make up on like this. My hair tends to have a mind of its own here and its super curly because of the humidity. So I am learning to cope! I wander then to the kitchen and grab a bowl of cereal. I usually have fresh bananas which I buy from a lady named Fatima. I first put a few scoops of powdered milk into my bowl, add some cubes of sugar, a banana and some water. Then I add my cornflakes. I don't even really eat Kellogg's because to buy the name brand imported cereals can cost up to $13 a box! I prefer to eat the no name and save! (So anyone planning on visiting...I like Golden Grahams a lot!) I sometimes make tea as well, depending on the time. 

For now, since I don't yet have my car, I get picked up by Yemisi's driver. (Yemisi is Juyins sister) and we then swing by to pick up Yemisi's kids and we are off to school. Depending on the day or time...no wait, what am I saying...nothing to do with traffic is to be predicted here. So we sometimes enter heavy traffic, and sometimes we don't. Yemisi's driver Chimeze grew up in Lagos so he is showing me all the short cuts to school from my place. I think I can remember 3 but I am sure there are more! 

Once at school, most of the students are already there in their classrooms. Depending of traffic elsewhere, some teachers will come late as well as students or the buses. A student rings a bell at 8am and we all head to the activity room. Here we spend time singing, learning a lesson, reciting the national pledge and anthem of Nigeria and then end with a marching song where the students head to their classrooms. 

While the kids are heading off, the teachers all gather and we have a brief morning prayer and relay any announcements to each other about the day. I then head off to do some work. I sometimes just wander around the school and observe what is happening in certain classrooms. Sometimes I go in and watch students who are unattended. This happens often and Juyin has really been trying to enforce that the teachers MUST not ever leave their kids alone especially the younger ones! For the most part, Nigerian children seem to have an earlier understanding of staying put and not getting into something they shouldn't...especially the young kids. Sometimes they seem older than they really are! Of course though, there are always times when they WILL misbehave, after all, they are kids!

Somehow I don't always know where the day goes, but it flies by. Sometimes I am sitting in Juyins office talking about ways to make improvements and how to get the teachers to change their methods of teaching. We can somehow talk for hours on this topic and come up with so many ideas. It sometimes is hard to remember to practice patience as we know that the changes will only occur slowly and we have to try to stay positive and not get disheartened or frustrated. For the most part, since I am new to the system, I don't get frustrated, but I can tell that Juyin has tried very hard not to become frustrated but sometimes it is difficult. I haven't yet started teaching art, but I have worked on the art room and the curriculum as well as lessons. I also am always working on ideas for and planning the next teacher workshop. I lead these and use them to allow the teachers to have a basic hands on way to see various methods of teaching and how to incorporate these into their classrooms and lessons. Its not easy...

I seem to be the favourite attraction to many of the kids and it took a while but now they are used to me. Especially the youngest kids, they are always coming to shake my hand or hug me if they see me and say "Miss Weening...Miss Weening!" The older ones seem to be fascinated with me, especially the girls as they like to touch my hair and want to always be near me. The boys are slowly coming around but I think they are still shy. I do spend time playing with them during the break or at least try to watch them play. I still have so many names to remember...but I am coming along. Even the teachers names are difficult for me to remember. 

After the kids leave, there are still kids that stay around for lesson (or tutoring) and some just stay in the activity room until there parents come. They are allowed to stay because most parents both work and due to traffic, it is difficult to come before 4. I usually then leave again with Yemisi's kids and driver and head home. I tend to get home at all different times. Sometimes it is 5:30. Sometimes it is 7:30. I then either chill, wander out of the Estate and carefully make my way across the street to get some small groceries. Usually at this time I am walking in between cars that are in traffic and dodging okadas. (motorbike taxis) But don't worry, I am always more cautious than not!  I then cook some food for myself. I have a gas stove and am getting used to lighting it without getting nervous...haha! I am very picky about having my kitchen clean because I have sworn NEVER to live with rats again in Nigeria as well as Cockroaches. I do admit that there are tiny tiny ants that sometimes appear if there is a tiny crumb or something, but they are easy enough to get rid of. I am always doing my dishes pronto due to this and any guests who come over just have to wait while I do all the dishes because I won't have bugs! 

After I eat, I tend to take a bucket shower because i feel so sweaty and gross from the day of being in the heat. I luckily have an air conditioning unit in my room, so it can cool the house down a lot! Everyone who comes over tends to hang out in my room on my bed due to the air conditioning. Most people who have come to my place find it hard to leave because it is so relaxing. They don't have all these people around to deal with and they say it feels so homey. I am glad for that and love it when people come to visit me.

After this I tend to do some reading of work and then answer some texts or phone calls...then I usually just find myself slipping off into a deep sleep. It is so easy to fall asleep here, whether there is generator noise outside or not...the heat tends to somehow do that to you.

So that is a typical day. Sometimes it differs, but for the most part I just go with the day as it takes me because you can never predict how anything will go here. So maybe one day, if someone comes to visit, I can take you thru a day so you can truly see how I live. 

Ekaro...

that means good morning in one of the major Nigerian languages...Yoruba. Now that I am in the South, the major tribe background here in Lagos is the Yoruba tribe. When I was in the North around Jos and Abuja, it was Hausa. But now that most of the people around me speak Yoruba, I have decided that I too want to learn this language and am slowly learning a few words and phrases here and there. I know it will still take a while but if a lot of the people around me are constantly Engluba or Yorubish (a combo of English and Yoruba) then I might as well learn. It is a very interesting language...as are most Nigerian tribal languages...but Yoruba combines some difficult letters together such as KP or GB...and some others...(I think) and with the GB sound it is like you have to stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth while you also stick your lips together and then open both quickly moving your tongue down and back to make want sort of sounds like a BA sound...but you can actually here the G in front of that BA sound. Anyone confused yet?! Well I am learning slowly to reshape my tongue and mouth as I learn. There is also often a silent H in many words so spelling sometimes is not always easy. For example the name SOLA is actually pronounced SHOLA. Guess each language has its secrets! When told from Juyin, my good friend and Boss, to be able to distinguish the differences between each of the 3 main Nigerian Tribal languages, its all in the tone. Yoruba, she explained was a low and deep throaty language. Hausa was sing songy and lovely and Ibo was just really fast. I hope I remembered that correctly! So for all of you out there...there you have it, your first introduction to some of Nigeria's languages. 

Speaking of languages, Pidgin English is also a main language. Though it isn't seen as an official language, everyone knows how to speak it...it is a must especially when relating to people in the market or on the road for most of the time they may not speak actual English or your own tribal language, so to meet in the middle, Pidgin English (also known as Broken English is spoken. This is one language that for a time now I have been able to understand...but really can't speak it. Some of my friends just laugh when I try because I add too many extra things to my sentences mixing everything up, its quite funny to them I suppose. I have to actually use Broken when talking to my gate man. He is actually Hausa and since I only know a few words and phrases, we use broken. Its quite funny because he will call me when there is NEPA (this is the power or electricity) so that he can shut my generator off and so that I can switch my power box to NEPA. I will take a picture to show you what I mean by this. So when my gate man Douda calls, he simply states "Na NEPA" meaning, there's light or NEPA. sometimes I call to tell him to "OFF AM" which means "shut it off" (my generator that is). Sometimes I say "I dey gate" which means "I'm at the gate" These are the simple phrases and there are much more complicated ones...but as I said, I can only understand them and not speak these or write them properly....maybe one day.

Talking about a gate man I am sure is very strange to many of you...well its a common thing here if you live in a compound (which I do) and there are also guards or gate men at my Estate gate. This is generally more for at night to monitor who is coming in. It is nice to have a gate man....any little errands that you need help with or something, you can just ask them to do it for you. I try not to do this that often, but if I run out of phone credit, and have not yet taken my bath, I admit that I don't want to wander down the road looking all scrubby to buy credit...but hey, all Nigerians are JUST as guilty! :-) Its also nice because I barely have to turn my generator off and on. The main reason for this is because I would have to take 3 sets or stairs down to my door, walk to my neighbours and turn my gen off or on. Douda (my gate man) is only about 20 feet away. So really people, I am not truly that lazy...but when light can come any time of the day or night...its just more convenient! 

I am not in fact at all lazy. Yesterday I was awake at 4am and since there was light, I decided to wash my dirty clothes, the kitchen clothes and towels and my bedding. I have a little portable washer and though the thing is only about 3 feet high and 2 feet wide....it works wonders. So just when all of you thought I would be washing my clothes all by hand or paying someone to wash them (which is the norm here) I am actually doing it myself and yes, there are still items that I wash by hand. I also take a lot of pride in my place and each week do a thorough cleaning. This consists of using a broom that is kind of made of reeds or sticks wrapped tightly at one end to sweep my whole house...including sweeping the carpet. I even attempted to mop my front stairwell...but I think I have to get a special broom for that one. After I sweep, I mop. Then I do the kitchen and bathrooms. It is quite tedious because I find that I mop at least twice since the dust from the air gets everywhere and is always tracked in by my feet as well as my guests. But for the most part, I enjoy the cleaning. 

I am really beginning to feel completely comfortable and confident here. I live near a little corner store type thing and bakery. I also buy my bananas and veggies from a local roadside store...Fatima is the name of the lady who sells to me and each time I buy from her, she is really inquisitive about Canada and what its like there. She is a lovely lady. I am completely used to the stares from people and now even laugh at some people especially when they might trip or run into something because there are staring at me. One night a car coming into my estate gate as my friend Lara and I were waiting for someone, was so busy staring that they drove into some tires in the middle of the road to divide lanes. We got a kick out of it!

I am still pretty independent here. I can go places alone and I even have started to drive a bit. My car is not yet ready for me...but one day as I started Juyins car (my boss) she suddenly looked at me and said "ok you are driving!" and that was it. I drove from the school to my place. Since then I have driven 2 more times. The last time was quite funny. Juyin sat in the back with her baby and I drove. Here many people have drivers and the passengers always sit in the back if that's the case. So you can imagine the stares! We were laughing because we knew people were confused and thinking "what is this? Does she have an Oyibo driver?" (Oyibo=white) So now I will just get my international license which allows me to drive here without police hassle. Anyone can get their license and not test is needed. Funny right?! 

Well I think I should leave now before I turn a simple blog entry into a novel. There is just so much to say, but I don't want to bore anyone. So till next time.