Trip
to the Pool
Her Excellency told me we could use
her pool anytime. We just needed to text
her first so she could let the guards know we were coming. On the last day of
school before the break, I told her twins in my class, I was coming over to
swim soon. The girls told their mom, I
was coming over for a sleepover.
Kindergartners are so funny. I
hope the girls were not disappointed when she told them we were just going to
play in the pool. She gave us the phone
number of someone else to call while they were out of town.
 |
| Clint enjoying our State Governor's private pool. |
We finally got over there this past
week. I wanted to check out the pool
before we went with everyone home. Clint
went in and said it was very warm but refreshing. There were two kinds of coconut trees along
the edge of the pool. Some of them had bright orange coconuts. I did some research to learn more about
coconut trees.
I dress pretty conservatively here but
that day I had worn a sun dress which ends above my knees. Several people made comments to Clint but I was several steps behind him so I didn't hear them and he wouldn't elaborate. I felt really uncomfortable. I will not wear that dress in public again. I remember Cyndi saying in Uganda women
always kept their legs covered. I have
seen some women with short dresses here so I don’t know what the problem was
except maybe they were blinded by my white legs. I know one of our teachers was asked not to
wear a mini skirt to school anymore so there must be something about the virtues of modesty.
VIP
Guest at the School
We
were asked to come to school on Monday to help greet a lady from the US who
wanted to tour our school. She was going
to visit all of Her Excellency’s projects.
When she arrived we learned she was The United States Consul Diplomacy officer,
Rhonda J. Watson from a US Embassy in Nigeria. She didn’t say she was actually a US citizen but she
asked what State we were from and where the other teachers were from at our
school. She seemed very pleased about
our facilities. She was responsible for
bringing the celebrities, Venus and Serena Williams to Nigeria a year ago.
 |
| Rhonda J. Watson is in the middle of the Camp Rock kids. |
Our campus was being used to house the
Miss Carnival Calabar Princesses. We were able to
see them up close as we walked past them.
All I really remember is they were all tall and still wore very high
heels. Also, our campus was being
used for Camp
Rock, which is part of Her Excellency’s project called A State Fit For A Child
(ASFAC). It is a 10 day leadership
camp. Students were chosen from each
region of our Cross River State to attend.
There were three age groups. We
listened to a presentation from each group and then had a time for pictures
afterwards.
After our VIP guest left we were taken
to the Post Office in the downtown area of Calabar to mail our second box of gifts to the States. This is the area we were asked not to go to
on our own in so our school Business Manager took us. I was able to snap a picture
of the Watt Market but it didn't capture it very well. We were told this
market had the cheapest prices but it is full of pick-picketers and is very,
very crowded. As we drove by, I noticed
the paths through it looked very narrow.
The Marian Market where we shop is much better. We also drove past the Red Cross office. It was really interesting getting to see some
of the downtown area.
 |
| We decided to listen to the advice of others and let the lizards take residence in our flat. I think they better learn to eat spiders in addition to the insects or they may meet the end of Clint's broom again. They are just too creepy. |
 |
| An enormous national flag has gone up over the Millennium Park. You can just make out the large imitation Christmas tree in front of the satellite signal tower. |
 |
| On one of our long walks we came across this Santa House so I posed for a picture. For a Northern fellow Santa sure is tan. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment