I was born on the 7th of July in the early 80s somewhere in Jerusalem in Israel, (I know, I know not a common place to be born in, don’t ask me! ask my parents what took them there) I went through the same process a firstborn Jewish child goes through! My hair was not going to be cut till I got past the age of 12. I was blessed, baptised and handed over to God just like Samuel and many others and when I was of age my first work was in the temple as a child interpreter. My first language was Hebrew and my first love was mathematics.
First born child in a family of six, I was what I called the experimental child. Try it with me and if it don’t work then stop! That’s how I felt!
Anyway before I rattle on! I excelled in everything! The typically brainy child and I never failed in anything. I was smallish and scrawny but tall for my age and I had big feet(funny i still have big feet). We came back to Nigeria in the late 80s and I continued my education and before you knew it I was done with the primary school.
I had written every exam available to be written for a kid in primary 5/6 and passed them all. So academically my parents weren’t worried. Coming from a family with my Dad a teacher and a Reverend and my mum a teacher, you had no excuse for being less than a Gifted and Godly child. Yet everything was new to me. I couldn’t stand the food. I remember my Dad had to hold a cane in one hand just to make sure I got something down my throat. I got stuck on eating bread and bournvita. It just wouldn’t happen for me.
Getting to boarding house and going to the dining room to eat was a pleasant yet not so pleasant experience. I just couldn’t eat the food. I did ok with the yam porridge and rice and looked forward to Sunday breakfast before going to church where we were served something that looked remotely like bread and something that was seriously watered down called TEA! I dint understand why I would find worm in the okro soup, but I guess after your provisions are done and I was new to the garri smuggling and drinking culture you try to eat whatever is presented. I remember having to seat on a table with 6 or 7 other girls and we share a pot of food after prayers. Then how annoyingly you were timed to eat! For Pete’s sake to me it felt like 30secs of prayer and 2mins to eat.
How do you eat a plate of hot porridge in 2mins? Then rush out and wash your plates amidst other girls.
Classes were routine but somewhat interesting. I was in JSS 1U the first class in the JSS 1 block and I was enjoying English classes because we were reading some good books like King Emene. I had a seat at the back row and with my glasses it wasn't quite so bad. I relied more on what I heard though! Being foreign birth had its advantages because girls kinda asked all sorts of questions, also being born in a place like Jerusalem wasn’t like the typical Europe or America! I had questions like ‘what’s the language like?’ can you speak it? Say something? What kind of food? Seen the cross where Jesus died? His grave? Lots wife? Even during evening prep! I was ambushed with all sorts! Can you write the language? Why my name is pronounced funny or written funny? How are the people there and stuff? I enjoyed the attention like probably everyone would and they were some that thought it was pointless after all my family was a middle class family.
Hostel life was tough for me! I wasn’t a stranger to household chores but doing them in the dorm? Now that’s a whole new level of chores. I had obtained favour so I was usually assigned windows and boy was I glad. I didn’t envy one bit those that were assigned bathrooms and even worse the toilets. But we all did our little bits with the seniors running commentary on us. On Saturdays we had the inspection to look forward to howbeit unwillingly. Beds had to be made, windows cleaned, floors scrubbed, courtyard swept, bathrooms and toilets washed, everyone bathed and tidy, and on time. It was a good grooming experience and a tough way to learn about housekeeping.
As a JSS1 student, you had like 5 levels of seniorship! From the JSS2 girls who finally had someone to bully to the SS3 big girls who knew everything! They will send you on all kind of errands. There were the favoured junior girls who had school mothers that took care of them and shared goodies with. And then they were those who well weren’t so fortunate had the jobs of fetching water, making beds, washing clothes, calling someone from one house to another, and then the worst kind of messages where the ones when they gave you little money and sent you to buy goodies worth more than you were given. Abeg! Which kain message be that? Make I go tuck shop for you with my money wey no even reach me! Pscheeew! For senior? They must be joking? Ontop wettin?
As I small reach shaaaaa I stubborn! I just refused simply to be bullied, obtained or played for a fool. I would tell you I wasn’t going and if you insisted well say goodbye to your money cos I wouldn’t come back. I did go for other messages like fetching water as my power reach.
I mean if u gave me a 17ltrs or 15litres iron bucket to go fetch water for you then you are on your own. Bucket wey be like twice my size? How now? Even my bucket wey be 10ltrs plastic sef na work! Which kain punishment be that? Haba a whole iron bucket? Some seniors dem wicked o! I dey forget their bucket for tap take off. So you can imagine what happened to me now. When dem catch me na super heavy punishment. I stubborn like the Israelites no be small. Anyway all na part of school experience shey? Well yea and to an extent it was intriguing and interesting
Some things in my environment where new and strange like for instance before we come back Naija I never see life fowl before. I come jam dem for east! Men that was interesting na! I mean live animals! Please give me a break I was 9yrs old! a smallie and curious. Am I not allowed to be curious?
Then we had our neighbours, they shared a fence with us a boys’ secondary school! Boys from the school were practically notorious and mischievous. They liked to scare off girls that came to the tap at night to fetch water by wearing pillowcases and bed-sheets and acting as ghosts. Abeg abeg abeg! Make I hear word! Even small me knew they were not real now! But girls will scream! Get scared, throw away their buckets and run for the hostels shouting, “Ghosts! Ghosts! Ghosts!” The boys will burst into laughter after the girls had run! Abeg na! I’d just sigh, sometimes it was soooo funny I would laugh so hard, clutching my tummy, then I will shake my head and go and fetch my water and go to my room. A bunch of boys couldn’t scare me! I knew better! Well it didn’t quite go well with some girls and they tagged me strange! Weird! You know all sorts! I dint mind. I mean I couldn’t care less. I was different all right. I was me!
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